Gold and Silver Angels
by Goldenwriter16
Summary: Gold and Silver. Opposites but equally beautiful. Fifteen years ago, Clary and Jace had two beautiful daughters, one with a gold locket, the other with a silver locket. Before they even had their second daughter for a year, she was taken away from them leaving a bloody trail. They buried their loss and raised their other daughter to never know of her missing twin. Summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Gold and Silver Angels: Gold and Silver. Opposites but equally beautiful. Fifteen years ago, Clary and Jace had two beautiful daughters, one with a gold locket, the other with a silver locket. Before they even had their second daughter for a day, she was taken away from them leaving a bloody trail. They buried their loss and raised their other daughter to never know of her missing twin. Fate draws the two together and spins them together in the tale of gold and silver angels.**

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

 _"_ _It's in our flesh, it's in our blood. This reckoning has just begun. There's no escape, when fire meets fate."-Fire Meets Fate, Ruelle._

* * *

Coffee beans and the smell of baked goods filtered in through Amberly's nose as she scrubbed the counter down with a wet dish cloth. She dropped the gray cloth on the counter for a minute, using her fingers to ease the muscles in her upper arm before glancing around the small café. The circular tables remained unoccupied but there were a few people sitting in the booths, their voices low with conversation. The small stereo in the corner produced a random country song.

Outside the café was drab while the inside seemed filled with any color on the palette but not in any specific order, raindrops slithered down the windows and the people out there were hurrying from place to place, trying to shield themselves against the downpour. Amberly almost pitied them, but she didn't mind the rain as much, it would beat being stuck behind a counter for days on end. She sighed wistfully, drumming her fingers against the countertop.

"Come on daydreamer, we have costumers." Jessie appeared, leaning against the counter, dropping her silver tray on the counter. Amberly rolled her eyes and grabbed the note from her best friend and handed her a bagel with a package of cream cheese. She moved over, taping the second note to the chef's string and moving back over to the register. Amberly sighed, checking and rechecking the register.

The bell over the door jingled as a guy that seemed her age appeared, peeling his gloves off his tanned fingers. "It's chilly out there." He said, flashing her a charming smile. Amberly bit back a blush, nervously biting her lip. "Can I have a coffee with 2% milk and three sugars?" He asked, she nodded and clicked the coffee machine on, grabbing a mug from under the counter. Amberly pulled the fridge open and got out a jug of milk.

"You new around here? I haven't seen you before and I've worked her for a good bit." Amberly tried to make conversation, as the guy leaned against the counter. He had softly curled brown hair with lighter streaks that glistened under the artificial orange glow produced by the lighting above the counter. His light brown eyes were warm with splashes of dark chocolate as he met her gaze with a small smile.

He shrugged, "Not really, I've grown up here my entire life. I was just chilly and decided to stop somewhere warm." He answered honestly, reaching a hand over the counter. "I'm Logan." She smiled, shaking his hand. The timer dinged on the coffee machine and she clicked the stop button and poured him a fresh and steaming cup of coffee, putting three spoons of sugar in with a spoon and some milk. The chestnut brown color became lighter when she finished as she slid the cup towards him.

"Would you want something from the bakery section?" She gestured to the glass viewing assortment of baked goods. Logan shook his head, raindrops dripping off his hair and sliding down his face. Amberly nibbled at a rough and tender spot on her lip, "You're total is $1.46." She read the green digits on the cash register, and he handed her two one-dollar bills. She opened the register and handed him his change.

Logan picked the mug up, flashing another charming smile, "Thank you, Amberly." He read off her name tag, before walking to a circular table and sitting down. Amberly glanced down at her hand, where their fingers had touched, electricity shooting up and down her spines.

"He's cute." Jessie said, gliding over, wiggling her dark eyebrows. Amberly slid her gaze over to him, finding him sipping his coffee while reading a small book. The chef tapped the bell separating the kitchen from the restaurant with his spatula dropping a plate filled with steaming food on the counter. Amberly handed the plate to Jessie, watching as she slid it onto her silver tray.

She rolled her eyes, "He's all yours." She answered, "I have plenty of other things to worry about then dealing with a relationship." Amberly picked up the dish towel, running it under the sink and twisting the towel, before dropping it on the counter and scrubbing in circles. She didn't even realize that Jessie had left before she returned with another order, leaning against the counter.

"You need to get out more, Ambs." Jessie decided, as Amberly clipped the note to the chef's string again and returned to scrubbing the counter. "You're always working. You're only fifteen, and you don't have any fun." She said, pointing to a scone in the bakery section, Amberly grabbed a towel and picked the baked good up and handed it to Jessie.

"I don't have time." She answered simply, "Now go Jess, you have costumers to attend to and so do I." Amberly waved her off as Jessie rolled her eyes and turned to go to another table. Amberly watched her best friend leave, toying with her lip in between her teeth as she drummed her fingers idly on the counter. She scanned the café, her gaze snagging on Logan as he gave her an amused smile before turning back to his book.

She sighed, before turning back to the door and greeting another regular costumer.

* * *

By the time her shift ended, the rain had picked up and the streets were flooding with the constant downpour. Amberly unwrapped the cream-colored apron from around her and hung it up, shrugging on a simple green jacket from her part of the closet. She waved at the person who had replaced her behind the counter and opened her black umbrella. "Bye Ambs, see you tomorrow." Jessie called over her shoulder before turning back to the costumer in front of her. Amberly waved at her back before pushing the door open and holding the umbrella over her head.

The umbrella barely blocked her from the rain, soaking her instantly as she rushed down the street. No cars were passing, which Amberly considered herself lucky for, getting splashed with more buckets of water wasn't something she wanted to deal with. She sighed, brushing some soaked hair off her forehead, the golden-blonde waves hanging limply and knottily on her shoulders.

"You cold?" A voice behind her made her jump as she turned around, Logan was standing there, a sturdy umbrella held in his whitened knuckles. She bit back a smile as he took a large step to hold the umbrella over her, her own umbrella was torn with cat scratches and was useless against the onslaught of rain.

Amberly quirked a questioning eyebrow, "What is with you and hanging in the rain?" She inquired, crossing her arms but not moving from underneath the umbrella he offered her, closing her own. "And I'm not cold."

He raised an eyebrow, "Sure you aren't, you're just soaked with water and not cold." He said sarcastically, Amberly bit back a laugh. "I guess this is the part where I walk the damsel home." Logan said, offering her his elbow.

"What are we, in the eighteenth century?" She kept her arms firmly at her side and began to walk in the direction of her home, he matched her pace perfectly. His movement graceful and practiced. "I'm not a damsel, I don't need saving." Amberly scoffed after a moment of walking in what could almost be silence, aside from the downpour around them.

Logan quirked an eyebrow, "I would never question it." He said, moving the umbrella slightly so that she got assaulted by the pellets of rain. Amberly tossed him an unimpressed look before continuing down the sidewalk, outside of the cover of his umbrella. She turned around, stopping momentarily as she waited for him to catch up. "Still don't need my help?" Logan asked, a confident smile in place.

Amberly shook her head, "Help? I never asked for your help. Just making sure you don't stalk me to my house." She crossed her arms and he gave her a flat look. She glanced down at her watch, turning on her heel and offering him a small smile. "I've got to run, see you around Logan." Amberly didn't wait for a response as she hurried off, turning right on a street, watching in her peripheral the smile on his face, etched with curiosity.

She continued to hurry to her house, slowing down once she reached the run-down apartment complex. The building loomed three stories over her head, windows covered in foggy mist and raindrops. Amberly crossed the street carefully, pulling the door open and wiping her soggy boots on the front mat. She trudged down the hallway and towards the elevator, pressing the upward arrow.

"Elevator's broken today." The man sitting behind the front desk informed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Amberly groaned, dragging herself to the stairs and pushing the door open, she began the climb to the second floor, the slamming of the door echoing in the empty stairwell. Amberly stopped on the second floor, pulling the door open and entering the red carpeted hallway. The doors all looked the same and mirrored each other on opposite sides of the hallway, Amberly walked a few steps, before stopping at the third door and grabbing her key from her pocket.

She jammed the key into the lock and shoved the door open, the faint smell of whiskey instantly greeted her, and she winced, closing the door quietly and glancing into the living room. Her foster father was sitting on the couch, his back to her watching some wrestling show, a half-drank bottle of beer in his hand. Amberly tiptoed into the kitchen, pulling out a few of her tips and placing them in the almost-empty jar.

"Anything else for me?" Her foster father appeared in the door way, swaying from side to side, the beer bottle slack in his hand and almost falling to the ground. Amberly shook her head, biting her tongue as Roderick surveyed her, before shrugging carelessly and pushing past her to the fridge. "Go back to your room, you smell." He waved a dismissive hand. Amberly didn't breathe a sigh of relief, exiting the room before heading to her bedroom.

"Amberly, you're back." Crystal ran to her, her light brown hair frizzed around her pale face and her bright blue eyes jumped with childish excitement. Amberly crouched down, wrapping an arm around her, pinching her own skin with her nails. If Crystal noticed, she said nothing and instead went back to their bed, hopping onto it. There was exhaustion hanging in her eyes that Amberly had wanted to forget, the exhaustion of a sick child.

Amberly pulled the chair out, plopping down. "How was your day sweetie?" She asked, pulling open a drawer and searching through it before pulling out an old jewelry box, she pulled open the secret compartment before placing the remainder of her tips inside. She shut the box and tucked it in between the cloths assorted inside.

Crystal smiled, shrugging her shoulders. "It was okay, Roddie had some friends over today and I got some crackers for lunch." Crystal informed, moving her legs back and forth happily. Amberly sighed, she hated the hours she had to leave, leaving her little 'sister' in the care of a drunkard. She lifted herself up, grabbing some clothes from her drawer and going into the closet to change into some dry clothes. She exited the closet and draped her clothes over a thick string by the window.

Amberly fished through her bag, grabbing a not-so-fresh croissant and sandwich. "Here you go Crissy." She handed the food to Crystal and watched with faint amusement as the girl's expression lit up at the look of food. She ruffled Crystal's hair, standing up and closing the tattered curtains, checking the time on her watch, tapping it a few times. "After dinner, how does a story sound before bed?" Crystal nodded, mouth full of food.

Amberly smiled, grabbing a black spiral book from her stack of books and opening it to a fresh page, she grabbed a nearby pencil, sharpening it over the trashcan, and pressed the tip of her pencil to the sketchbook paper. She began to draw lines, her hand moving across the page as she drew, after a few minutes she was able to decipher what she drew. Logan, a saber in hand coming through a wall, dressed in black with swirly designs on visible parts of skin.

"Who's he?" Crystal asked, cleaning up her crumbs and placing them in the trash, she pointed at the picture.

Amberly fought a blush, "He's nobody, come on let me tell you a story." She grabbed a book from the top of the pile, a red leather-bound book with 'Shadowhunter Codex' scribbled in swirly writing across the center. She winced at the memories that came with the book and flipped to the index page. "Let me tell you the story of Jonathon Shadowhunter, the first mundane with angel-blood." She began to read the book aloud, whispering tales into the night as the sky became darker and the moon reached the center of the sky behind dark clouds.

* * *

It had been two weeks since Logan had appeared in her life and Amberly was almost sure he was a figment of a daydream, he hadn't come to the café and it seemed he never existed. She hated that she was counting the days since he had walked through the door, it seemed so desperate. Today it was cloudy with hints of sunshine outside, pedestrians littered the sidewalk moving at a slow pace with the threat of rain dwindled.

"Wouldn't it be nice to be outside, like in central park." Jessie appeared at the register, her silver tray flat against the inside of her arm. Amberly nodded her agreement, what she would give if it meant to be in central park, sketching until her fingers were dark with charcoal. "You're lucky, you have the early shift." Amberly didn't say what she wanted to say, that Roderick would never let her go the opposite direction to central park if it meant having his precious money away from him a second longer.

"I wouldn't say lucky." Amberly muttered to herself. At least, she could drop off the money and take Crystal out of that terrible apartment. Her shift ended at three, so it would give them plenty of time to go to the library and get some books while returning some along with heading to Central Park. That was the only reason she ever took early shifts much to Roderick's protest.

The person in front of her gave a noise of annoyance and she turned back to the woman standing in her business suit, taking her order and handing her the latte moments later along with a cheese croissant. "You've been distracted lately." An unfamiliar voice said and Amberly snapped to attention, only to reason that the person wasn't talking to her. Rather the four teenagers that fell through the door, cloaked in all black.

The speaker was a guy that looked a year older than her, with curly light brown hair and blue-green colored eyes. His hair fell around his head messily and his eyes scanned the small café, settling in a booth at the front with a woman surrounded by two men. "Seems you were right." The girl next to him spoke, her coloring the same as his but her hair fell around her head in waves, reaching just beneath her shoulders.

"Not here Gabriel." Logan interjected, "There are too many mundanes around." Amberly almost felt embarrassed at overhearing a conversation but the four people paid her little mind. _So, he has read the Shadowhunter Codex?_ The book had been given to her at the orphanage and she had been so interested in it that she couldn't get herself to get rid of it, it kind of gave her hope. Either way the oddity of them all being here and talking like that made her curious.

"Well, when? They obviously know we can't do anything here." The girl with red hair spoke up, her hair looked like flickering flames, flashes of golden strands shimmering throughout. Her skin was golden with a layer of freckles across her nose and golden eyes sparkled in the light.

Logan finally turned to her, "Amberly, it's good to see you." He greeted her with a casual wave, walking to the counter. Amberly fought to keep her gaze on them, feeling the gazes of his friends burn holes into her face.

"I suppose you enjoy standing around in an entry way Logan." She shook her head at him playfully. Logan flashed her a charming smile and she internally glared at him, rolling her eyes. "What can I get for you and your friends?" Amberly asked. Logan froze though, and she tilted her head to the side curiously. He looked like a dear caught in headlights but just plastered a smile onto his face.

"I thought you all were wearing glamours." Logan hissed under his breath and had Amberly not been waiting for an answer she wouldn't have heard as his friends exchanged looks. "Can I have a coffee with one strawberry and one cheese croissant?" He asked, the fake smile once again in place. Amberly nodded, turning the machine on and grabbing the items from the bakery section with a napkin.

It took a few minutes for his coffee to finish and even then, it seemed dragged out because he didn't even bother to fill the air with meaningless chatter. Instead having a heated and whispered conversation with his friends. Amberly drummed her finger nails on the counter, filling a white mug with coffee, spooning three cubes of sugar and a spoon of milk into the coffee before stirring.

She handed the items to him, their fingertips touching as she handed them over and he paid for the food. "When do you get off?" He asked, and Amberly tried not to appear worried, answering him before he and his friends exited the place. She stared at the door for a minute, trailing after them with her eyes before sliding her gaze to Jessie who had appeared at the counter.

"I see the hunk has returned for you." Jessie said teasingly, handing her the note as Amberly grabbed two donuts and placed them on a plate for the chef to place scrambled eggs on. Amberly rolled her eyes in response to her best friend, handing her the food.

"The people he came in with were kind of odd though." Amberly said, tapping her finger to her chin thoughtfully as Jessie drifted to another table before returning, worry flashing behind her eyes. "What? What's wrong Jess?" She asked.

"Are you ok?" Jessie asked, her green eyes shimmering with worry. Amberly gave her a curious look, nodding. "Amberly, Logan was the only one who came in, I have no idea who you're talking about." Jessie said slowly, as if she was talking to a child. Amberly bit back her annoyance at being talk to like a child but then understood what Jessie said and her jaw went slack, that was why Logan gave her a weird look, there was no one there.

"Yeah, I'm fine, must have been a figment of my imagination." Amberly tried to convince herself and Jessie laughed slightly, rolling her eyes. Jessie was right, there was no one there and she found herself locking eyes with a woman sitting in the front booth with two men sitting across from her. The woman's lip stretched into a bloody smile and for a minute her teeth looked sharp before they were regular teeth and the woman was smugly smirking at her.

* * *

Until three Amberly tried to convince herself that what she had seen was a figment of her imagination but even as her shift ended she couldn't stop the paranoia creeping along her skin. She traded her apron in for her favorite green sweater and stepped outside into the afternoon light, immediately falling into the thrumming crowd. Amberly couldn't turn around with the people shoving her forward but she could feel the eyes following her as she left.

The crowd pulsed until she turned on a less crowded street, a run-down street that was only a few blocks from her apartment complex. She walked down the sidewalk for a minute, slipping in between people before she felt a hand grab her elbow and pull her roughly into an alley. Amberly tried to scream but nobody paid her any mind as she was dragged in between the two buildings.

The woman from the two tables was standing in front of her and the men were holding her against the wall. The woman smirked smugly at her, her eyes the color of the ocean when the light was shining on it. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" The woman hummed as the men on both of her sides chuckled, their eyes glazed over. "A mundane with the sight, such a beautiful thing."

"What are you talking about?" Amberly hissed out, this sounded like something from the Shadowhunter Codex, but that wasn't real, it was just a book of stories. Her locket burned into her skin, the silver almost burning her flesh. _All the stories are true_. "Let go of me." She struggled against the two men holding her as one let go but the other grabbed that arm roughly and shoved it behind her back like she was handcuffed in his grip.

The woman smiled, her bloody lipstick looking crimson against her pale skin. "There's no point in struggling." She dragged a nail down Amberly's face, cutting into her cheek. Amberly hissed in pain, trying to cover her cheek and fight against the man holding her back. The woman smirked at her, grabbing the man and stabbing her nails through his heart, he slumped to the ground, crimson liquid pooling around his head.

Amberly tried to scream but the man holding her placed a hand over her mouth, she bit his hand in response. He released a yell of pain, but nobody seemed to care, nobody was concerned for the disgruntled sounds coming from the alley. It was like nobody was listening, she started to feel fuzzy, taking the man's moment of pain to escape. Amberly dragged herself to the front of the alley and was almost in the clear before a hand dragged her back.

The woman griped her arm harshly, long nails piercing her skin. The other man was dead, fallen with crimson liquid leaking out of the wound in his chest. "Try to escape little Amberly." The woman hissed into her ear, and Amberly winced as the woman dragged a cut down her arm, throwing her against the wall. Amberly hit her head, the edge of her vision fuzzy as she dropped to the ground.

"Let her go _demon_." A voice hissed, familiar but unfamiliar as Amberly fell to her knees. There was the sound of hissed words and metal clanging against the ground, as a girl with long brown hair grabbed Amberly. She tried to whisper soothing words but all Amberly could feel was pain and fire raging inside of her heart, she raised the opposite hand to her arm, hissing. Her cheek and arm burned with the fire growing inside her veins.

"By the angel." The girl said, "This isn't possible." She continued to mutter, before turning her head to whatever was happening that Amberly couldn't see. "Logan. Gabe. Selene. Get over here now!" She could hear her yelling but Amberly was already slipping down a slippery slope, the colors she could see were blurred together. Her skin burned even more, and fire roared in her ears as she screamed in pain, everything was burning and the words they whispered were lost in the flames.

* * *

 **I know, I'm rewriting Gold and Silver, but with the old plot, there was no way I could picture her actually agreeing to see them or actually have anything to do with them without the story being like this. I actually want to apologize for not continuing it the way it was, I know some of you liked it the way it was. I also want to apologize for the lack of an update on a lot of my stories, it's summer break and I have plenty of time to write, I have no excuse for this. I also would like to address another story, Rivals, I'm sorry for spoiling the ending to Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments season 3b, I'm really sorry for doing that, i guess I wanted to ramble some excuse and overall I'm very sorry.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Gold and Silver Angels: Gold and Silver. Opposites but equally beautiful. Fifteen years ago, Clary and Jace had two beautiful daughters, one with a gold locket, the other with a silver locket. Before they even had their second daughter for a day, she was taken away from them leaving a bloody trail. They buried their loss and raised their other daughter to never know of her missing twin. Fate draws the two together and spins them together in the tale of gold and silver angels.**

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

 _"Can we recover? Can we get over this? Are we too deep in the night to see the day? Can we recover? Can we get over this? Are we too frozen in time to feel the flame?"-Ruelle._

* * *

The room was on fire, her skin burned and prickled with the heat, it was too hot. Hot enough to burn away her skin, peel it away to the raw tissue underneath. Her back burned on top of the smooth surface she was on, it seemed more like a pyre of hot coals. Amberly peeled her eyes open, the orange, red, and yellow hue and bitter smell of smoke faded into a distant lull. Instead the room was painted in pristine white, glaring brightly, and smelled of bleach and chemicals.

Amberly sat up, the blankets that had been on her bed were bundled on the floor, forcefully thrown off in a bitter attempt to cool off. She winced, looking down at her hands, there was a faint scar on her upper arm, white and healing, and she traced a finger down the length of the healed wound. She glanced down at her fingers, they were still tanned and gold but there was a faint sheen shimmering under the fluorescent lighting. She blinked, and the sheen was gone, dissipated as if it was never there.

Her gaze slid to what she was wearing, a gray t-shirt that was almost her size, a bit smaller, and shorts that were a bit short. "What happened?" She whispered to herself, running a hand through her hair. Amberly stood up from the bed, holding her hands out to steady herself, and finally slid her gaze around the room, there was a set of white cabinets against one wall, a sink sandwiched in between them, and a lone window was in between her bed and another twin-sized bed. She walked to the sink, turning the tap on and splashed some water onto her face and on her arms.

It cooled her skin, but she still felt like it was too hot and suffocating in the sterile room. "I see your awake." A girl appeared in the doorway, walking in with the grace of a cat, assessing and calculating. Her fiery hair was tied in a loose bun and she was wearing a black shirt combined with black ripped skinny jeans, black heeled boots covered her feet. The parts of her skin that were visible were covered in inky and swirly designs.

Amberly turned the tap off, backing away. The girl's lip tilted up at the corners, a smirk there and that's when Amberly noticed that she was carrying her clothes, her money neatly folded on top. "What is this place? Who are you?" She folded her arms across her chest, trying to still her shaking form.

"Easy." The girl said simply, placing the clothes on the counter. "I'm Selene Herondale." The girl introduced herself, folding her arms across her chest and raising both eyebrows, she looked at Amberly expectantly. "And the question is who are you, because you certainly aren't a mundane?" Selene fired back, her expression challenging, eyes blazing an uncanny gold, not honey brown just pure gold, shimmering.

"Mundane? What the hell are you talking about?" Amberly tilted her head to the side curiously, something about Selene rubbed her the wrong way. _Maybe_ , a small voice reasoned in the back of her mind, _she seems familiar to you_. "Look I don't know who you think you are, but you can't just take me here, it's called kidnap, have you ever heard of it?"

Selene laughed, "Kidnap?" Her voice was incredulous, "We saved you, in case you've forgotten everything that happened yesterday." Selene corrected. The memories flashed in front of her, a woman cornering her in the alley, cuts, fire, and people murmuring above her head. Amberly frowned slightly, backing away from Selene, that had been real? It wasn't just a dream, or a nightmare.

Her back met the counter, and she stilled herself, searching for words but her mind drew a long blank. "Where exactly is here?" Amberly finally asked, she eyed her clothes and money which was near Selene, who was still wearing a smirk, but her eyes were cold and calculating. It made her feel like she was being examined, every detail picked and held under a microscope. _What people would have done to me once they knew the truth._ The feeling settled firmly in her stomach, and she tried to be steely in response.

"The New York Institute." The girl answered, stepping forward and Amberly forced herself to remain calm as the girl reached her, keeping a reasonable distance. "You still haven't answered my question, who-what are you?" Selene asked, taking a step closer so that they were toe to toe, up close Amberly could see the furrow in her brow, lined with a look that warred on hate.

"I don't know." She answered, side-stepping Selene, noting that it pissed her off by the slight wrinkle of her nose and the downturn of her smirk. Amberly picked up her clothes, grabbing the money and sifting through it, it was all there, down to the last dollar. Selene turned to her, never once losing the grace that flowed through her muscles. Her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides.

The door flew open, saving-or maybe not saving but giving her more time to gather herself-her from further interrogation as the same boy from yesterday in the café walked in, wearing a simple t-shirt that barely concealed large muscles. "Gabriel." Selene hissed under her breath. She walked past Amberly and stared defiantly up at the taller boy. "I was in the middle of getting answers."

Gabriel merely quirked an eyebrow, staring down at Selene with amusement burning in his blue-green eyes. "You know our parents can handle the interrogation when they get back, they'll get more answers than you." Gabriel said, side-stepping Selene and flashing Amberly a warm smile. The first smile she had gotten since getting here, and had she been someone like Jessie, she would be falling hard at that single look.

Jessie. Crystal. _Crap_. Selene retorted something, but she didn't bother listening, shoving her money into the pockets of her borrowed shorts. "I would love to continue this sometime, but I've got to go." She walked past both of them, Selene making a grab for her arm, but she slipped past with practiced ease. Amberly turned her head back to her, stopping in the doorway, "Look I have a family, people who are going to freak out since I didn't come home last night. Think that through considering you don't want to be discovered now let me the hell out of here."

Selene groaned. "You've got a point. But we will find you, even if it means hunting you down." Selene pushed past her, guiding her to an elevator and pressing the down button. They waited for several minutes before the gold detailed doors parted and they filed into the glass and gold room with Gabriel. The ride was awkward but only lasted a minute before they were on the ground floor and she was being guided to the door, following them and resisting the urge to look around.

"She's definitely not a mundane, a mundane wouldn't be able to see this." Gabriel's whisper swam past her ear as they got to large gold and silver door with several windows that distorted the green view outside.

Selene made a move to grab her arm again, her eyes deadly and threatening, but Amberly dodged the grab, allowing the other girl to grasp air. "Don't bother running, we will hunt you down." Selene threatened through her teeth as she pushed open the door. Amberly rolled her eyes, nodding her head as she walked through the door. The streets outside were filled with pedestrians but nobody turned their head in her direction, caught up in their mundane lives.

She turned back to the two people that had brought her there, trying not to glance in awe at the large cathedral that she passed routinely, it still looked abandoned on the outside but now she could pick out details that hadn't been there before. "I wouldn't doubt it, you're Shadowhunters, aren't you?" Amberly missed the silent exchange between the two people as she left and fell into step with the many people on the sidewalk.

* * *

When she reached her apartment building, she practically charged up the front steps, probably looking insane but not caring as she ran inside. The person behind the front desk was rubbing the sleep from his eyes, muttering under his breath before readjusting himself to fall back asleep. At any other moment, Amberly might have scoffed, but she was grateful at the lack of commentary as she threw open the stairwell door.

The stairwell was, as usual, empty, and she rushed to the second floor easily, she pushed the door open, trying to ease her breathing as she walked to the third door and searched her clothes and pockets for the key before finding it in the jean pocket of yesterday's clothes. She jammed the key into the lock, unlocking the door with a click. The room already smelled like alcohol and she resisted the urge to wrinkle her nose.

"Where the hell have you been?" Roderick barely stood up from his position on the couch, his poker-buddies were sitting in the circle formed in between the mix-matched chairs and couch. A white dust was on the table, and a pipe lay beside it, dropped. Amberly winced at his tone, noting that he was more than drunk and trying to form the right words that fit the situation in front of her.

"I was attacked last night, here's the money." She handed him all of the money, not wanting to be caught withholding money. Roderick snatched the money from her, calling her more choice words before brashly dismissing her to her room. Amberly hurried to her room, noting Crystal resting on the bed, her skin pale and a small bruise around her neck. _No!_ She rushed to the small girl's bed side, digging her nails into her palm, forming small crescent-shaped marks.

"Amberly?" The small girl whispered, her words weak with fatigue and exhaustion. Everything Amberly had tried to protect her from, the way that Roderick acted when displeased was every reason for her to never step out of line. She felt tears brim her eyes, choking on a sob that formed in her throat.

Instead she offered a watery smile. "I'm here Crystal. I'm here." Amberly whispered, her voice shaking. "Can you move?" Crystal shook her head no, the gesture causing a low hiss to escape. _She's getting worse_. She wiped her hands on her bare legs, quietly moving to the closet and grabbing two duffel bags and a small book bag. Amberly filled the bags with their clothes, careful to not her hands linger too long. She filled them with other belongings, books and the money she had saved, buried in the clothes.

"We're leaving?" Crystal whispered, barely able to sit up. Amberly nodded, putting both duffel bags on each shoulder and the book bag on her back, the small book bag was filled with things that didn't fit in the duffle bags. She scooped Crystal into her arms and pushed a chair in front of the door before opening the window and getting onto the fire escape. Amberly didn't know where to go, as they stepped out of the alley, her holding Crystal tightly. "Where are we going?"

Amberly continued to walk down the street, turning many corners until the apartment complex was out of sight. "I don't know." She answered back, turning her eyes skyward. "We'll find a way, we always do, don't we?" Amberly said, offering a weak smile as Crystal stirred against her, shivering in the thin sheet wrapped around her. They had no where to go, nobody who would help her, she had never felt even more lost.

* * *

Night was fast on the horizon, the sun dipping below the horizon and brilliant hues coloring the cloudy sky, the tall buildings may have obstructed the view. But even around them, the colors were still brilliant. Amberly had tried to find places but milling around in a crowd of strangers hadn't offered much other than some judgmental looks and people who wouldn't help without a large fee. A fee she couldn't afford.

Amberly glanced down at Crystal, who had drifted off hours ago, her head lolling against her chest and the smudges under her eyes more pronounced by the minute. She ducked her head, sitting down on a bus stop bench and adjusting Crystal in her lap. The people on the bench had either gotten on the approaching bust or inched away from her, their attention glued to the large phones in their hands. Her feet ached with the pressure of walking for half the day, burdened by bags that felt like they weighed more than herself.

She sighed, tilting her head back and staring emptily at the overhang that shaded the people during the day time. With the day almost over, she finally allowed defeat to wash over her. Every second was slipping between her fingers with the time she had before Crystal was _gone_. A promise flickered in front of her eyes, but what could they do for her. Crystal was a mundane and Shadowhunters protected them from demons not illnesses that ripped people from each other.

They wouldn't help her. They would simply tell her that perhaps it was for the best, if she was like them, then connections with mundanes would be a violation of the law. She dug absently through one of her bags, pulling the leather-bound book out and flicking through it. The stories, the legends, everything was true, it wasn't fabrication at all. But pure and honest truth. Amberly knew that she had to be losing her mind, but the events of last night and this morning soiled that.

"You seem lost." A voice interrupted her inner turmoil and she flickered her gaze to the source of that voice. A man was standing there, black hair spiked up and glittery, shimmering under the streetlights, his skin was tanned, and he wore a purple sparkly blazer and tight black dress pants. It wasn't that odd, all together he pulled it off, but it was his eyes. Green and gold with a cat slit outlined in black make-up. The man smiled at her, sitting down on her other side, "I'm Magnus Bane."

He held a hand out to her, black painted nails contrasting the sun-kissed skin. Amberly accepted his hand, before tugging her hand away quickly, to which the man frowned but then smiled again. "My name's Amberly." She introduced herself, turning her attention back to Crystal, who had shifted slightly on her lap before becoming comfortable again. Magnus was watching her, his gaze burning her face. "And I'm not lost." Amberly added, remembering his first words towards her.

Magnus lifted an eyebrow, "Sure you aren't firefly, people just chill on bus stop benches for fun." Sarcasm laced his words and Amberly turned her gaze back to him.

"Firefly?" She asked, usually people with fire-colored hair were given nicknames related to fire, Amberly was sort of surprised that he would give her that name when her hair was blonde. Plain and ordinary.

Magnus nodded affirmatively, "Of course, you have a strong inner fire, don't you?" The words sounded more factual than a question. Amberly raised both eyebrows but just shrugged her shoulders, "She seems pretty sick." He noted, and Amberly sighed, lifting a free hand to massage her temple.

"She is. She's been sick since we were _young_ , but it got really bad today. I guess that's why I'm lost, we don't have anywhere to go." Her lips tilted up from a minute, offering a tired smile. For a moment, she wondered why she was admitting all this to a stranger, but there was something comforting about Magnus Bane. "We've been together since she came to the orphanage, she was so young but already so frail." Amberly muttered, shoving her hand into her side.

 _I don't want to hurt anyone_.

Magnus turned in her direction, "I don't normally offer to help people, but you're an exception firefly, come with me." He stood up, offering her a hand. Amberly hesitated for a minute, staring back at the exhausted face of her little sister. Before standing up and adjusting the bags on her shoulders, slipping the book into one of her bags. His hand dropped to his side and he eyed her curiously before gesturing for her to follow him.

* * *

The apartment he lived in was far less glittery than she imagined when they were walking over, modern but yet comfortable. There was a cat situated on his couch, offering her a disgruntled look before rolling over and falling asleep. In front of her was a large living room with a view of the city sparkling beneath it, lights creating small stars from the doorway perspective. To the right was a kitchen-dinning room combo and to her right was a hallway. Magnus welcomed her in with flourish and eased the door closed behind her. Amberly stood gawking at the large apartment, she'd never been in a place so big other than this morning which rarely counted.

Magnus reemerged from the hallway, when he had left was a mystery to her, carrying a white sheet and two blankets along with a pillow. He pushed the cat off the sofa and laid the sheet down over top, putting a pillow at one end and folding the blankets at the end. "If you would please sit her down." He didn't look at her but said the words before going towards the kitchen, she could see a study now from the sofa, lined with books.

Amberly sighed, settling Crystal down on the sofa, watching as the smaller girl nestled into the couch, shivering slightly. She unfolded the blankets and laid them flat on Crystal, easing the two satchels on the ground and taking the book bag off her back. Her shoulders throbbed, and she lifted a shaking hand to massage them, before glancing around. There were a few pictures, one of Magnus and another man that she didn't recognize but their hands were intertwined, and they were looking at each other with love shinning in their eyes.

Pure, unfiltered love, storybook love. "That's Alexander, he's my husband." Magnus appeared beside her, tearing her gaze away from the picture. Magnus was holding a mixture that looked somewhat strange, glowing a pristine white color and almost swirling dizzily in the vial. "The others are of our adopted kids. Max, Gabriel, and Skyler." He said before straightening his blazer.

Amberly suddenly felt like she had been punched in the gut, Gabriel and Skyler, those names chimed in her head, they had been there last night. Gabriel this morning with Selene. It had to be coincidence, a large one, but one all the same. Amberly inched away from him, placing a protective hand in front of Crystal. "Are you a Shadowhunter?" She asked.

Instead of looking at her like she was crazy, Magnus only smiled, amusement coloring his eyes. "I suppose you've met Gabriel and Skyler." His lips tilted up even more to where she could see pearly white teeth. "And no. I'm a warlock." He said, pushing her hand aside and giving her a look to see if she wanted him to not help Crystal.

Amberly sighed, glancing down at Crystal before faintly nodding, she remembered warlocks. The children of demons and mundanes, they were unable to have children, hence the word adoption that Magnus had trickled in when he listed the name of his children. The acts of carrying this process out was another matter entirely, gruesome and daunting. Magnus slipped the potion between Crystal's lips and began to pour slightly before pulling back.

Magnus placed the potion on the table, putting the cap back on and casting a stern look towards his cat. "That's Chairmen Meow, he's somewhat of a mean kitty." Magnus waved a dismissive hand at Chairmen Meow, before focusing back on her, sitting down in one of the arm chairs and gesturing for her to take the other. "I can't fathom why you would be scared of Shadowhunters, you are one, aren't you?" He pointed to the swirly design that began to show underneath the sleeve of her shirt.

It was then that she realized she was still wearing the borrowed clothes and she slid her gaze to her upper arm, there was in fact a black and swirling design engraved in her skin. "What the? How did that get there?" She wiped her hand at it, but it wouldn't even smudge, defiantly telling her that the effort was pointless. It looked like a tattoo, permanent, but she couldn't recall ever seeing it anywhere other than strange dreams.

"Perhaps you didn't know." Magnus snapped his fingers and a wine glass appeared in his hand, he sipped at it, a blue light hovering over the top of the liquid. "But how can a Shadowhunter not know that they are Nephilim, most have the sight and you certainly do." He tapped his chin with his other hand thoughtfully.

Amberly only stared at him in confusion.

Magnus chuckled at her expression, "You must be tired." He snapped his fingers and another sofa similar to the first appeared on the opposite side of the coffee table. Complete with blankets and a pillow. "Rest, and I will explain everything to you later." He said, gesturing to the empty couch, "Unless you would like to sleep in a guest room." Amberly shook her head, sitting on the couch, careful not to touch the blankets and pulling off her boots.

"Thank you, Magnus Bane, I wish there was some way I could repay you." Amberly sighed, sliding underneath the blankets and yawning slightly. She stared sleepily at him, causing him to chuckle and set his wine glass on the table.

"Don't worry firefly, just rest." He then exited the room and Amberly closed her eyes, exhaustion claiming her as she spiraled into darkness. He might have reentered the room, but the footsteps seemed so close but so far away, like a dream that slunk further and further from her reach.

* * *

By the time Alec had arrived at his door, he was exhausted, Clave meetings took a lot out of people, especially the meetings dealing with the faeries and the distaste between the Shadowhunters and the other children of angels. He wiped a hand down his face, pulling the keys from his pocket and unlocking the door. What he saw surprised him, there was a younger girl resting on the sofa, with medium brown frizzy hair and pale skin. But there was another couch, identical to the first with a golden person tucked inside white sheets.

He blinked repeatedly, but as his vision adjusted he saw a golden-haired girl with gold-tan skin and a light patch of freckles across her nose. "Ah, Alexander, the Clave meeting went on a lot longer than we expected." Magnus appeared, a cocktail in hand and a warm and loving expression on his face. Alec smiled at his husband, linking their hands before turning back to the two girls. "What are they doing here?" He asked, even if discomfort still remained, he felt better with Magnus giving him strength.

The girl still struck a chord in him, she looked so much like his _parabati_ , it was astounding. "I noticed the girl first, she was holding the smaller girl in her arms and they both looked so lost. Firefly, well Amberly, somewhat reminded me of Jace, but she seemed so much purer." Magnus explained, moving his hand in a swirling motion, a nervous tick that Alec picked up on after many nights of being with Magnus.

 _Amberly_. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't put a place to where he had heard the name before, "What are we going to tell Max when he gets home tonight?" He instead asked, sitting down in his arm chair, even up close the girl closely resembled Jace and Clary. Like an opposite mix than Selene, but that was impossible. Magnus shrugged, and Alec fought annoyance as he turned back to his husband. "I guess we can say they were another one of your mundane clients."

Magnus shook his head. "The smaller girl is a mundane, but firefly is a different kind of Shadowhunter. She even has a rune on her shoulder next to that scar on her arm and she has met Gabriel and Skyler. Plus, I did a little digging and she has a codex." Magnus informed him, snapping his fingers as a wine glass appeared in Alec's hand. Alec sighed, rubbing his temples, this girl brought on another set of problems and issues, baggage that was somewhat comparable to Clary's baggage when he first met her.

She was trouble. Alec lifted his head up, "I'm not explaining this to Max, you're going to have to do that since you got us all dragged into this mess." He gave his husband a stern look to which Magnus again shrugged, he loved and hated his carelessness at the same time in that moment. They were cut off by the girl moving and he caught sight of emeralds before her eyes fluttered closed again.

Alec watched the girl for more movement, but he found none and averted his gaze back to Magnus, who was leaning against his chair, showing the first signs of exhaustion. It had been a truly long day, he could barely remember this morning between the hours spent debating. "I'm going to send a message to Tessa and Jem." Magnus disappeared from the room, reappearing a few seconds later, a fire message zipping out the window. "They have a knack for finding people." He didn't specify who they had a knack for finding but Alec had a feeling he knew the answer anyways.

But the details surrounding the girl seemed so illogical, a matter of impossibility. Exhaustion nipped at him as he slouched into the chair, studying the girl, trying to formulate where she had come from. Who was she? And why was a Shadowhunter, so young and so alone wondering the streets at night? Alec sighed, running a hand down his face, his eyes darting to the window as he tried to still his thrumming mind, the other girl, had also become apart of this mess and he pitied her.

She was a young child, not someone who should be caught in a world that no mundanes without the sight should know about. Amberly shifted again in her sleep, the sleeve of her shirt riding up to reveal an _Iratz_ engraved in her skin, above a thin white line. He eyed the design, before letting his eyes slip close. There were so many questions hurdling around his mind and in the darkness the questions faded and soon the sounds faded with that until he was encased in the darkness of dreams.

Tomorrow would welcome a new beginning with another set of problems.

* * *

 **I guess that's a wrap, I tried to find a thousand ways to write this that would somewhat make sense and not have everything unfold so quickly. Of course, we only saw Selene, who kind of comes off like a major bee when I kept trying to write scenes earlier, Gabriel, Magnus, and Alec. I don't want everything to unfold quickly but we already kind of know what is going to happen, somewhat at least.**

 **Anyways I hope that what I did was good, semi-good. I know that summer break started like a month ago, but I have had literally no inspiration until last night, and even then, it was kind of a major flop. I'm going to try to update Rivals by tomorrow or With or Without You tomorrow, whichever one I can write first.**

 **Another thing is that I'm kind of losing interest in Winx Club, it doesn't really hold any value to me anymore, and I'm sad about that but I'm still going to try and write stories for the archive but not as often as I would like.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Gold and Silver Angels: Gold and Silver. Opposites but equally beautiful. Fifteen years ago, Clary and Jace had two beautiful daughters, one with a gold locket, the other with a silver locket. Before they even had their second daughter for a day, she was taken away from them leaving a bloody trail. They buried their loss and raised their other daughter to never know of her missing twin. Fate draws the two together and spins them together in the tale of gold and silver angels.**

 **I don't own the Mortal Instruments.**

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

 _"Bring on the fire, and bring on the storm. We'll still be here when it's all said and done. Tear down the bridges and burn down the walls, we'll still be here. Invincible."-Ruelle, Invincible_

* * *

Dreams and nightmares clawed at her conscious as she blinked the sleep out of her eyes, pushing herself off the comfy surface into a sitting position. Amberly slid her gaze around the room, her sleep addled brain informing her where she was as she pushed her feet into her boots. She had missed two total days of work, meaning that she was probably fired and now jobless and sleeping on a couch that did not belong to her. She sighed, running a hand through her hair before standing up and checking the time with the window.

The first rays of sunlight were just starting to peak over the horizon, and she watched as the city began to wake up, starting with shops and then pedestrians hurrying the sidewalks and cars driving at a leisurely pace. Amberly took an involuntary step towards the large window, placing her palm against the cool glass and observing the colors that bathed the city in a pink glow. She dropped her hand to her side, grabbing her satchel off the ground and searching through it, she grabbed a randomly assorted outfit before zipping the bag closed.

She dropped a kiss on Crystal's forehead, her temples for once cool rather than burning with fever, before stepping towards the kitchen. No one was awake, other than the cat who was lying on its back on the counter, giving her a miffed look before closing its eyes lazily. Amberly raised both eyebrows before looking around the apartment, "Bathroom's down the hall." The man from the picture appeared in the doorway, looking rumpled in a t-shirt and pajama pants.

Alexander offered a friendly smile before grabbing a mug of caffeine and sitting down on a bar stool. Amberly smiled in return before retreating down the hallway, she finally found an open door that led to an enormous bathroom that looked positively soothing. She resisted the urge to soak in the bath tub, rather stripping of her clothes and changing into some ripped jeans and a green tank top. Amberly ran her fingers through her hair and picked at her teeth, before exiting the bathroom.

Alexander was still in the kitchen, going through his phone and occasionally sipping on black coffee. Amberly went to the couch, folding the clothes before shoving them into the top of her book bag, she would drop them off later when she was forced to go back to the cathedral. She rubbed her arm for a minute, sighing in frustration at the lack of movement from the mark engraved below her shoulder. "Runes don't work like that." Amusement colored his tone and she shot him a confused look.

"Alexander, darling, she doesn't know what you are talking about." Magnus swept into the room, dressed in a sparkly robe that was tied in a loose knot at the front and purple striped pajama pants. He looked positively refreshed, snapping his fingers for a latte that appeared seconds later and leaning against the counter. Magnus beckoned Amberly over, to which she rolled her eyes but complied.

She eyed Alexander for a minute, "You don't seem weirded out by there being another person on a couch that magically appeared in your living room." Amberly noted, sliding into the bar stool next to him.

The man in question shrugged. "I'm used to Magnus spontaneously bringing people in. I'm Alec, by the way." He held a hand out, and she shook hands with him before tugging her hand away. Alec frowned but didn't question the action, turning back to Magnus who shot him a look that spoke volumes. Amberly pretended that she didn't notice the look, instead she played with the necklace dangling from her neck.

"Amberly." She nodded, but she had a feeling that Magnus had already told him that. Amberly slid her gaze to Crystal, frowning slightly, "Is she supposed to be asleep so long?" Amberly asked, trying to disguise her worry and calming the fire churning through her veins.

Magnus nodded, sipping from a white straw at his latte. He seemed to be watching her, "I suppose that you have read the Shadowhunter Codex." The words sounded more like a statement than a question but Amberly nodded in answer, "Then this shouldn't be too hard, all the stories in that book are true, they all happened."

Surprisingly she didn't feel as scared as she probably should, if anything the answer soothed her, letting her know that she wasn't losing her mind. Amberly felt both gazes burning into her face, as they both stared expectantly, waiting for an answer or response. Was it crazy that she didn't feel like calling a mental hospital and asking to be let in? "I kind of figured with the markings and your eyes." She lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug.

Magnus chuckled, but he was still watching her with his cat eyes, searching restlessly. "Then you know only Shadowhunters can bare marks, or runes. The one on your shoulder for example is the rune for healing. An _Iratz_." He explained and Amberly slowly nodded. The information poured into her brain, making her feel strange but complete, like a missing puzzle piece was being found.

"I'm a Shadowhunter, but most call us _Nephilim_." Alec supplied, pointing to a faded design underneath his elbow and then another that was located near the blue veins underneath his wrist.

Magnus slid one eye into a wink, "Most _nephilim_ are very snot-nosed however, I got stuck with one of the good ones, well most days." There was a teasing lilt to his voice and Alec playfully punched his shoulder before turning back to Amberly. A spot of envy grew in her heart at the love and respect the two obviously held for each other, but she overall swept it to the side, dismissing it to the darker corners of her mind.

Amberly toyed with her locket some more, the silver gleaming between her fingers as she soaked in the information. Alec's eyes snapped to the movement and his brows furrowed. "Where did you get that?" He asked, his tone losing the lightness and comfortability that it had carried beforehand and his voice cut through the air like a knife.

She pushed it underneath her shirt, "I've always had it, since I was a baby." Amberly cleared her throat awkwardly, letting her hands drop to her side. A moment later she shoved them roughly into her jean pockets, scratching at the outside of her fist with the stitching. Her heart raced inside her chest, and her mind filled with warnings. _Calm down. The fire appears when your emotions runs too high._

Magnus cleared his throat and she was suddenly acutely aware of how awkward it had become, the silence thick enough that not even the sharpest kitchen knife would suffice cutting through it. His gaze too had remained on her and his eyes were studying her a bit too deeply for comfort, "I'm going to be having friends over soon. Perhaps you would want to wake your friend up and freshen up." He wrinkled his nose slightly, "That outfit is so colorless, you need a bit more color, it would suit you."

Alec, even though his gaze burned into the side of her face, rolled his eyes, "Don't worry about him, he's just overly picky in the clothing department."

She picked at her shirt anxiously, did that mean he wanted her to stick around to meet his friends, or was that a polite way of saying that he wanted all traces of her gone by the time they arrived. Whatever it was, was abruptly cut off by a blue-skinned man walking into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, "You guys are far too loud for a Tuesday morning." He grabbed a mug from a cabinet and poured himself a cup of coffee and spooned two sugar cubes inside it. "Oh hello, you must be one of dad's clients." The man blinked, noticing Amberly's presence.

His eyes were a startling shade of blue, and dark midnight locks curled around his head streaked with silver that didn't make him look even the slightest bit old. But the way he said it would soon dawn on her, clients? Meaning this man had done this for a living? She drew her eyes away from the blue man, obviously a warlock by his tinted skin. "I guess I am." She lifted both shoulders and let them fall, "If you'll excuse me."

It wasn't the politest exit ever, but she couldn't bring herself to care as she crouched down beside Crystal. Crystal was the only thing that mattered. Amberly bit her lip, wondering how she could wake up her little sister before sighing and, with her hands shaking, placed a hand on Crystal's shoulder. The girl didn't make a sound of discomfort, rather leaning into the touch as if it produced a warmth that her body craved.

"Come little butterfly, time to wake up." She gently moved the girls shoulder back and forth before Crystal's eyes fluttered open. Crystal yawned and Amberly pulled her hand away, scraping it against the rug as she leaned back on her heels, giving Crystal room to sit up. Her little sister looked around the room, confusion printed across her face before her gaze resided on the three strangers in the kitchen.

Crystal's gaze halted on them, "Do I want to know why the man is painted blue?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

The blue-skinned man looked slightly offended but there was amusement in his eyes, "Painted? This is my natural skin color. I'm a warlock, missy." He said, causing Crystal to blink at him in confusion. Magnus smacked his chest, giving him an annoyed, 'you-earned-it' look before gliding over.

"Hello there, I'm Magnus Bane, and I'm afraid this is a story that might require some time. So, why don't you and Amberly freshen up and I'll get some cookies and cake?" The words sounded more like a statement than a question. Amberly nodded, shouldering the two duffel bags before motioning for Crystal to follow her down the hallway and into the expensive-looking bathroom.

"Wait, where am I supposed to shower?" She heard the blue-skinned man ask before she shut the door, the reply blocked by the thick walls.

* * *

Almost an hour and a half later, they were finally seated in the living room. Amberly had searched through the bag before finding some black fingerless gloves and dressed Crystal in one of her floral dresses after giving her a long bath and taking a short shower for herself before changing into the same outfit as before. Magnus had given her a look when they exited, Crystal brushing through her hair and Amberly letting her hair air-dry. They had also brushed their teeth but that was sort of lost when the sweets on the table caught Crystal's eye.

There was also an unrecognizable man on the couch, wearing a much more expensive-looking outfit that looked somewhat old. His hair was salt and peppered, black and silver strands mixing together, and his skin was pale with the look of a Chinese man. Amberly almost remembered him from distant memories but simply shoved that into the corners of her mind. Crystal had given her a begging look to which she nodded before grabbing a plate full of sweets, more than Amberly had ever seen and she worked in a café.

The man smiled, teeth brilliant and white, "Hello, you must be Amberly. My name's Jem." He introduced himself, rising to his feet and holding a hand out, Amberly, much more comfortable with gloves covering her palms, shook his extended hand.

She sat down next to Crystal, who gave a tight-lipped smile, her mouth filled with a cupcake. Amberly resisted the urge to shiver at the look that Jem was giving her, a mixture of curiosity and intelligence swirling in his dark and silver eyes. "Are you a warlock?" Amberly couldn't help but blurt out, feeling her face heat with embarrassment.

Jem didn't appear offended, lowering his tea cup and flashing the same smile, "No. I'm a special kind of Shadowhunter." He answered before turning his head towards the kitchen, ending the conversation. Amberly shifted uncomfortably but she understood, there were some secrets that she didn't want anyone to know, like him. She adjusted her gloves, shifting them so that they covered more of her hand.

When she looked up again, a familiar face stepped into the room. A face that haunted her dreams and nightmares. Tessa Gray.

* * *

 _The walls were too thin in the orphanage, there was never any privacy, which was why Amberly resorted to sneaking through a small hole in the fence and running towards a park. The park calmed her, and even though there were many people milling around, she finally felt the solace of privacy. She had her obligations in the orphanage, like to her two-year-old little sister, but she couldn't resist the taunting of freedom._

 _Sitting by the lake, her head in her knees and watching the fish swim by fondly, she felt at peace, like any responsibility was lifted from her small shoulders. Occasionally people would bother her, asking where her parents were, to which she had replied that they were getting ice cream and would return soon. The people would leave her alone then, and she would return to the orphanage, trying to forget that her parents probably had gotten ice cream, but they never returned._

 _She sighed, shaking her head to clear her thoughts and dipping her fingers into the water, watching the ripples vibrate through the water like small waves. A shadow blocked her back from the sun and she frowned, before forcing a smile and turning around. There was a woman behind her, dressed in a fancy, expensive-looking outfit that looked sort of funny in the hot weather. She had brown hair that waterfalled over her shoulders, sun-darkened skin, and blue-grey eyes that rivaled with the sky during a storm._

 _The woman crouched down to her level, possibly ruining her trench coat. "Where are your parents little one?" She asked, her voice oozing a sweet tone. Amberly opened her mouth to respond with the ice cream lie, but instead her mouth filled with foam and she closed it again, flushing red. The woman seemed to smile slightly but it might have been a trick of the light. She bent down, picking a wildflower and handing it to Amberly almost like a peace-offering. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."_

 _"_ _You won't?" Amberly found herself repeating, the woman nodded in response. She felt her body relax, accepting the wildflower and holding it to her chest where her locket gleamed. "Hello, my name's Amberly." She held a ripped-gloved hand out, to which the woman accepted without questioning._

 _"_ _My name's Tessa, Tessa Gray." The woman introduced herself as Amberly tugged her hand away. There was already cat like scratches across the palm of her glove and she didn't want to risk hurting anyone. They just sat like that, side-by-side watching the lake flow but never saying a word until Amberly had to leave, when she returned the next day, the woman was still there. Tessa never left her, until she burned her away._

* * *

The woman in front of her still looked the same as she did in the memory, still young and like she was in her early twenties, but she had the wisdom of a woman as old as time in the blue-gray eyes. Amberly felt her mouth fill with foam as tears involuntarily rose to the surface, and the wound that woman had left in her wake throbbed inside her chest. She snapped her gaze to Magnus, who was watching with honest confusion in his eyes.

"You're right Magnus." Tessa whispered, but the words sounded like she was yelling them. Magnus flinched, like he was stunned before her blinked several times, his gaze meeting hers and there was so much shining inside his gold-green cat eyes.

"Right? Right about what?" Amberly couldn't keep up, her voice was trembling, and it took all of her will power not to run right then and there, but there was still Crystal. "What is she doing here?" She lifted a shaking finger in Tessa's direction, trying to still herself, trying to calm down.

Magnus took a step forward, and she backed away, not even realizing that she had stood up. "This is Tessa Gray, she is an old friend of mine. Please sit-down firefly, let us explain everything to you." He said, voice oozing like honey. Amberly sat down but she was as far away from Tessa as she could be, there were memories, unbidden, that came rushing back at her. Trust. A book. Parents. Stories. Burned. Abandonment.

"Alright then, explain." Amberly folded her arms across her chest, Crystal had stopped eating and was watching Tessa curiously. They had met maybe once when Tessa had visited the orphanage, but the memories that Crystal probably had, she probably assumed to be dreams.

Tessa sat down next to Jem, and he interlocked their fingers, that was where she remembered him from, he had been there a couple of times but always in the back ground. "Amberly, I-when I left, I was going to get your parents to come to you. They didn't know that I found you, but when we came back, the orphanage was gone and so were you." She said, and there was the shimmer of tears in her eyes.

Amberly shook her head, "No. You're wrong. You left because I hurt you." She almost stumbled over her words, creating crescent shaped dents in her palms, pressing into the fabric without ripping.

"No. I left because when I found the fire inside of you, I knew that you were the daughter that they had lost." Tessa seemed to choose her words carefully, and Amberly felt the first tears fall, sliding down her cheeks leaving red trails. They dropped into her hands, creating a sizzling sound. "The heavenly fire still burns inside of you." Tessa whispered, her hands going slack and her eyes widening with something akin to sympathy.

Amberly hated sympathy. "Lost? My parents abandoned me, they left me in the middle of a sidewalk, because the orphanage was too far away. And nothing about me is heavenly." She clenched her hands into fists. _Calm down. Calm down. Control it. Don't let it explode. Calm down._

Someone unclenched her fist and put a pot in the palm of her hands, containing water that immediately started to boil. Amberly blinked up at the blue-skinned person, Max. He offered a sheepish smile. "Well if fire burns in your veins, I wanted to see if you could boil some water for me." Max lifted both shoulders and let them fall in a shrug. The situation might have been hilarious, but she was too stunned to do anything but blink.

She had forgotten he was there, watching the whole ordeal. Magnus, however, looked unamused and smacked the back of his son's head. "Seriously?" He placed both hands on hips and his eyes narrowed in a death glare.

Max rubbed the back of his head, tousled hair falling back into place, "What was that for?" Magnus looked ready to smack him again, but Alec intervened, covering Magnus's hand with his own. Amberly slid her gaze back to Crystal, who looked like she was trying not to laugh or faint from shock, her cheeks were dusted with pink as she stared at Max. She had expected Crystal to be looking at her like those people from the foster homes who had stumbled on her secret.

Their faces had been etched into her eyes, some looked at her with hatred, while others looked at her with fear. Crystal had neither look, she wasn't even looking at her, instead she was practically fawning over a man almost a decade older than her. With blue skin nonetheless. Amberly wasn't sure what else to say anymore, she felt exhausted like she had been running for hours. And when she finally looked away from Crystal, blue-gray eyes burned a hole into her face.

Tessa was watching her studiously, as if she was sealing every detail into memory, and the hand not encased in Jem's gasp had fallen from her mouth and was lying limply in her lap. Amberly should feel a tinge of pride that she had managed to render Tessa so utterly speechless, but instead she felt like crying herself, burying herself in blankets and never reemerging from the safe haven.

It took her every ounce of will power to stand up, and even then, her legs felt fuzzy, like she had lost feeling in them from lack of blood flow. She didn't look at Tessa, she couldn't bring herself to anymore, but instead sought out Magnus's face. His face was filled with so little emotion that contrasted with his gold-green cat eyes, which flickered with several emotions. "I need to go for a walk, can you please watch Crystal?" She eyed her little sister, who still refused to look at her.

It wasn't just Max that had stolen her attention, but Amberly herself, that knowledge sent a knife through her heart. Magnus nodded, walking her towards the door and muttering that she should return before handing her a silver watch. The door closed in her face before she could even comprehend he had handed her something. When she looked down at her hand wrapped loosely around the expensive watch, she fought another thought of running. Taking the watch to a pawn shop and hightailing out of there.

Amberly breathed a sigh that burned at her lungs before walking down the hallway, the walk turning into a sprint once she reached the sidewalk.

* * *

Running on a sidewalk filled with pedestrians seemed like a challenge, but Amberly had simply wormed her way through the onlookers, who shot her angry looks at being so rudely cut off. She had found herself at the library of all places, hurrying through the doors and dropping down onto a nearby chair. The library was less crowded than usual, teenagers that worked there stacking books and muttering about a wasted night. Amberly forced herself to breathe, in and out, before sinking further into the chair, toying with her locket.

She opened the locket, reading the words etched into the second picture, ' _All the stories are true_.' Amberly couldn't bring herself to look at the first picture of a family of four, instead closing the locket with a click and moving it around on the chain on her neck. She rubbed a gloved hand down her face, before she stared at her palms. She grabbed the glove and peeled it off, the scorch marks inside the gloves startling but not unfamiliar.

Her hand looked no different than anyone's hand from far away, but up close she could see a sheen around it that covered her hand like a second skin. Up close she could see the fire dancing across the lines in her flesh, glinting like gold in the center of her palm. Amberly found herself transfixed on the fire, they way it danced in a nonexistent breeze, the way the colors so naturally shaded from a light yellow to a red-orange.

Amberly slid the gloves back on, covering her hand and running her finger down the center of the glove, finding the fabric slightly flimsy and sticking to her hand. She pushed herself up, exiting the library as fast as she had come and tilting her chin down at the police cars that zipped by. There was probably already a notice of her absence, rendering her completely exposed if she even glanced into the car of a police officer.

She was running again, but not from the stories that were coming to life in front of her, but from the system that was going to suck her back into a home where she was considered lower than dirt. Amberly ran into central park, running in between trees and cutting herself on branches and piercing her skin with thorns. She fell into a clearing, on her hands and knees and found herself breathing heavily.

She couldn't escape from anyone. Everyone wanted something from her. Amberly felt the tears fall, and Tessa, the woman who had gave her hope only to squander it, reappearing in her life. The events of the past three days were exhausting, and she would give anything to be normal. To live her life in bliss without any knowledge that the world she had known was falling apart at the seams.

Fire burned through her gloves, the fabric falling from her like peeled skin, and alit the grass. Amberly watched the small flames dance beneath her, never hurting her but there and glowing. She sat back on her heels and peeled the gloves away, watching her hands shimmer in the midday light. The burst of flame in her hand almost startled her and a part of herself had screamed at her to stop, to suck the fire back in but it was already pouring out of her.

The flames created a circle around her, growing at the size they could, and she stood up, holding her hands out and watched the fire rise to her palms, flowing and dancing around her hand. It was almost beautiful, and she never wanted the feeling to go away but eventually exhaustion clouded her mind and she fell over, the flames dwindling to embers. Her blood no longer sizzled with fire but shame because she had given in to the same fire that could turn the world into ashes.

* * *

 **I recently added a story to Wattpad, called 'Before Gold and Silver Angels,' so if you want the before, you know when Amberly 'died', then I suggest you read it and then reread this. One more thing, you know the ritual that was reversed when Jace died in the third book, well I think it was received after the baby is a couple of months old, so that the baby is less likely to die when they are first born. And yes, that is very important tidbit for the story just not right now.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoyed the not-so eventful chapter three and look forward to chapter four.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Gold and Silver Angels: Gold and Silver. Opposites but equally beautiful. Fifteen years ago, Clary and Jace had two beautiful daughters, one with a gold locket, the other with a silver locket. Before they even had their second daughter for a day, she was taken away from them leaving a bloody trail. They buried their loss and raised their other daughter to never know of her missing twin. Fate draws the two together and spins them together in the tale of gold and silver angels.**

* * *

Chapter 4

* * *

 _"We live in the shadows, we live where darkness hides. We'll go where no one goes, we won't give up this fight. We're coming after you. Nowhere to run. We're coming after you. This is the hunt." This is the Hunt-Ruelle._

* * *

In a matter of minutes, the grass had been reduced to nothing but smoldering ashes, the smallest ember the only remnant of the fire. Running her hands above the grass, Amberly watched as the embers roared for a minute, jumping up to meet her palm before dwindling. Every fiber of her being screamed at her, this was wrong, it was so wrong. But even if her heart wanted to stop, something in her pressed on.

The world had weighed down on her, making her feel small and incompetent. And in the moment of releasing the bit of fire churning in her veins, she had never felt so free. So boundless. She leaned back on her heels, pulling her hand back towards her lap and cradling it with her other hand. Amberly sighed, closing her eyes, she wanted the moment of freedom to last forever, but reality couldn't wait forever.

Reining in every bit of fire that she had released was like calling in an animal that was wild and untamed. Amberly brushed herself off, opening her eyes and glancing around herself, a part of her wanted to stay forever, in a place where there was no one to tell her that she was a freak. Checking the time on the expensive watch that Magnus Bane had dropped in her hands before promptly slamming the door in her face, she noted with a sigh that it was leaning more towards sunset.

"What the hell happened?" The words echoed around the clearing and Amberly froze, her head turning towards Logan, a lie forming in her mouth. His eyes held her in place and the lie disintegrated at the tip of her tongue. He was decked out in black leather, a silvery bow in one hand with an arrow in the other. Logan eyed her, placing the arrow in the leathery quiver strapped on his bag containing an assortment of uniform arrows.

The sunlight silhouetted him, highlighting the lighter streaks in his chestnut brown hair and his darkly flecked irises studied her carefully. It had seemed to have been a long time ago when she was a girl working in a café and he was a charming boy getting coffee. Now, she was a girl with the remnant of flames surrounding her and he was a boy with a weapon. Amberly tried to remember what to say, think of a lie that could save her a few moments. Her gaze darted to the forest, maybe she could outrun him.

"Don't even think about running." He had crossed the smoldering remnants of what had been lively green grass in a few strides and was standing in front of her. Amberly inched backwards, her bare hands tugging at a loose thread in her shirt. An apologetic look glinted inside his eyes before disappearing in the depths of his hazel eyes. "I'm sorry Amberly." His words carried in the breeze, "You have to come with me for questioning." He straightened his spine.

Amberly couldn't run, even if she tried, he would catch her and force her to come with him, whether she liked it or not. Instead she gritted her teeth together and nodded, creating crescent-moon shaped dents in her palm feeling her locket burn against her bare skin, hidden underneath her shirt. Logan placed the bow on his back, pulling out a small, silvery device and sketching a fiery design in the sky. The design swirled, slamming against the bark of one tree before enlarging into an orange swirly substance.

Amberly felt the wind pick up, blowing her hair against her face and knotting the strands together, she pulled her hair to her neck trying to get some out of her face. Logan turned to look at her, his messy hair blowing in the strong wind and offered a hand out to her, amusement twinkling in his eyes. She tried not to feel anything as she placed her hand in his and together they jumped into the swirling mess.

* * *

It felt like she was free falling, spinning around and around until her stomach flopped and she felt sick to her stomach. The feeling lasted for an eternity before she landed unceremoniously on the harsh ground. Amberly flattened her palms against the grass, blinking up in the afternoon sunlight. Logan was next to her, dusting himself off and looking unaffected by the spinning orange vortex that zipped closed behind them.

"Come on Amberly." Logan muttered, crouching down and helping her up on her shaking legs. Amberly glared at him, ripping her hands away from him and gesturing for him to lead the way. Logan sighed, moving towards the front door of the cathedral that held eyes watching her every move. Breathing a sigh of her own frustration, Amberly tried to still herself and followed him.

Selene, Gabriel, and a girl that had the same coloring as Gabriel, were all at the door, their faces washed of emotion. "It took you long enough to find her." Gabriel said dryly, his eyes sweeping over Logan as if checking for injury. Amberly folded her arms across her chest, eyeing the four teens that wanted to question her, before sending her to a lab to be inspected by microscopes. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and goosebumps covered her arms.

The girl, Skyler she remembered, frowned slightly. "I'm not sure that we should question her without our parents here." Skyler commented and even though Amberly wanted to put off the questioning for as long as possible, their parents would be much less merciful towards her.

"We have to." Selene insisted, before turning on her heel and gesturing for them all to follow her further into the cathedral. Amberly slid her gaze around the room once as they exited it, taking the elevator to a separate room where they sat down at a table. She sat down reluctantly, resisting every urge in her body that screamed at her to flee, to run. "We don't have the mortal sword, so for now we are just going to ask you a few questions before sending you to the Clave."

They talked about her like she was a piece of property that they owned and could do with as they pleased. "I agreed to questioning but I will not be sent over to somewhere that I don't know with people I do not trust." Amberly's blood boiled underneath the layer of her skin, and she gritted her teeth as her knuckles whitened underneath the desk. Selene looked ready to argue, but after a look from Logan, closed her mouth but shot golden daggers at Amberly.

"What is your name?" Gabriel cleared his throat, glancing between the two before settling his gaze on Amberly.

She narrowed her eyes, "You already know that. My name is Amberly."

"How long have you known about the Shadow world?"

Amberly closed her eyes thoughtfully, "I learned that all the stories were true for maybe three days or less. But when I was seven, I was given a Codex that explained the legends." Amberly explained, wincing at the memory of Tessa Gray handing over a leathery book that contained stories and legends that she didn't want to believe to a seven-year-old version of herself.

"Who gave you the Codex?" Selene asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Tessa Gray." Amberly answered, her voice drying in her throat before she shook her head. She pushed the memories to the darker corners of her mind where the abandonment hadn't meant so much to her.

Selene stood up, "Why would Tessa hand you a Codex?" She seemed to mutter to herself, pacing slightly. Amberly watched her for a minute before her gaze traveled to Logan unwillingly, he was watching her with something stirring inside his chocolate eyes. "What are you?" Selene asked, her voice raising an octave as she suddenly slammed her hands on the desk and her golden eyes burned with a fire similar to the one that burned inside Amberly.

"If I knew that, do you honestly think I would avoid answering you. I am a Shadowhunter, you know that with using a rune on me to heal me, but I am nothing like you. If I knew the answer to that then I would have no problem answering you, other than the fact that you hate me for no good reason other than pettiness." Amberly snapped back, her eyes turning gold for a minute with her emotions leaking out before she cast an imaginary rope, bringing them all back to her.

Skyler stood up, "Stop it! Both of you need to cut it out." Her angry blue-green eyes silenced everyone in the room with a single glance. "If anyone should be questioning Amberly, it's me. I was the one who was nearly burned, not you so why the hell are you acting like she attempted to hurt _you_?" Her voice turned shrill as she finished, Selene had a bit of emotion to look ashamed before her face became emotionless once again.

"Alright, come on you two, we'll let you handle it from here Sky." Gabriel smiled at his sister slightly before pushing Logan and Selene towards the door and shutting it before their protest could echo into the room. Amberly glanced at Skyler, who seemed to be calming down since her explosion and sat down across from Amberly.

Amberly tugged at her locket, before letting her hands fall into her lap at Skyler's eyes narrowing in on the action. "Don't worry, I just wanted to talk to you one-on-one without the other three trying to start a fight." She waved her hand whimsically, a small smile tilting up the corner of her lips. Skyler smoothed over her expression and the smile faded but there was still a gleam in her eyes. "I'm going to need a recount of everything that has happened to you, involving the Shadow world."

There was a small screen sitting on the center of the table and Skyler picked it up, tapping on a few buttons before setting the tablet down again. "When I was seven, I was in this orphanage, usually I would leave the orphanage to go out and see a bit of the world." A small, fond smile tilted her lips upwards. "One day when I had gone to the lake I normally visited, a woman, Tessa, approached me." Amberly frowned.

Skyler nodded in understanding, holding a finger up to her lips and pointing towards the screen. 'Recording.' She mouthed, 'You have to continue.' The words carried on like a whisper that the tablet had hopefully not caught.

"We became close, she was there every day, and she never reported me for leaving the orphanage. She read me stories and explained lessons to me that the teacher's failed to." A hint of a fond smile swept across her face, before she stifled it. "I was convinced she was going to adopt me, all the stories and legends made it seem like a fantasy. I dreamed up a family with a mother who would tuck me in and a father who played games with me." The dream was a distant memory, faded.

Skyler opened her mouth and closed it a few times, seemingly debating what she wanted to say next. "Where are you from?" She finally asked.

"I don't know." She shrugged, "I grew up in Delaware, but eventually the orphanage made no money and shut down, so I took my little sister and ran." Amberly started to trace designs into the desk with the tips of her fingers.

"Little sister?"

"I've looked out for her, her entire life." Amberly glanced up, "She's my sister in every way that counts. Next question." Skyler looked slightly surprised at the forcefulness in her tone, but Amberly only averted her gaze to the table. Crystal had nothing to do with the Shadowhunter world and Amberly would make sure that Crystal never had to see a demon.

Skyler cleared her throat, "What makes you different than the rest of the Shadowhunters?" Amberly wasn't surprised that the question had come up, Selene had fired the question before she had left, but with less softness and understanding in her voice.

"I'm not sure how this happened, but I can burn down anything." Amberly simply answered, nervously glancing at her hands. "It's so uncontrollable, it's why I don't let people touch bare skin, when it's clothed at least there is a layer of protection." Skyler didn't say anything, her fingernails tapping against the screen, stopping the recording. Amberly slid her gaze towards her, but the girl's face was impassive.

Tugging on the edge of her sleep, she flipped her wrist over to glance at the expensive watch Magnus had given her. A pang struck her, Crystal must be so worried, she had just left her with people she barely knew. Tessa didn't count, she hadn't really known her at all. "I'm not sending you to the Clave." Skyler finally said, her fingers moving rapidly across the screen. "You would be too much of a danger to be in Idris and that is what I will tell them if they find out about you."

"Wait! What? What do you mean if?" Amberly fully glanced up, eyeing Skyler warily. She shook her head, trying to think if Skyler really just said that.

Skyler tucked the tablet underneath her arm, her lips tilting up slightly. "I can't send you there, it would be too dangerous and you're not willing to go there. Plus, Tessa Gray did this under the Clave's nose, if they discovered her involvement." Skyler shook her head, gesturing for Amberly to follow her. Amberly glanced around the room before standing up and walking out the door.

Logan, Selene, and Gabriel were in various parts of the hallway. Logan was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, Selene was pacing up and down the hallway and Gabriel was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall next to Logan. When the door opened, Selene whirled around, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword. "What is she doing out of the interrogatory room?" Selene eyed Amberly with distrust.

Amberly folded her arms across her chest, "We're not sending her to the Clave." Skyler answered simply, walking down the hallway and past the group. Selene stared after her in confusion before following her.

"What are you talking about? We're responsible for protecting mundane from people that could be dangerous. A girl that can burn down pretty much everything she touches seems pretty dangerous to me." Selene's voice echoed around the hallway and Skyler turned towards her, her expression challenging.

Adjusting the tablet in her hands, Skyler's gaze scanned the hallway before resting on Selene, "And if we do, she could endanger people in Idris, especially if she is unwilling to cooperate. If the Clave discovered that Tessa was involved in something like this, she could be taken in for questioning and not many members of the Clave actually like her." Skyler informed her, before whirling on her heel and exiting.

Selene stood there for a minute, staring after Skyler, before she turned to look at Amberly, her gold eyes cold with distrust. "Just because we won't send you to the Clave does not mean you're free. I'm not going to be letting you out of my sight." Amberly's instinct was to scream at Selene, fire a retort that probably would have made Selene change her mind about convincing everyone to send Amberly away.

Instead she stared back at Selene, hoping that everything she wanted to say could be communicated with her eyes.

* * *

The room they had left her in was only a single step up from the room she had woken up in, it lacked the sterile white feeling that the room contained but otherwise it was just as small and just as empty. Amberly had waited for Selene and Gabriel to leave, Logan had taken off somewhere the minute they had decided to show her to her room, his aloofness ticking at Amberly's nerves, before checking around the room. She checked the windows, they wouldn't budge, forever locked with a key and she had no pins to lock pick with. The drawers were all empty and the table only had a lamp.

A clock ticked somewhere, counting the seconds but other than that, it felt like a prison cell.

Amberly sat down on the edge of the bed, toying with her lip in between her teeth as she glanced around the room, there wasn't anything for her to do. They had left her in a room that felt like someone had packed up everything they owned and left. She stood up, running her hands along the blankets, feeling the smooth fabric between her fingers. Glancing at the corners of the room, she found something she was looking for, a red flashing light showing a recording camera.

"So, am I supposed to stay here forever?" She raised both eyebrows at the camera, painting an unamused look across her face. "I know one of you is watching me. I'm not stupid. Did you crack up watching me find an escape? Move left to right if no or up and down if yes." It took a minute, a minute that she felt like a complete and utter idiot for talking to inanimate object. It could also be possible no one was behind it at all. Amberly bit her lip as she stared into the lens of the camera.

The camera moved up and down, signaling yes. Amberly almost cheered at the slight achievement of something to do while she was stuck here.

"Can I leave the room?" The camera moved side to side. Amberly sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed and resting her chin in her hand. "Can you give me something to do? A book to read? A sketchbook and pencils? Anything?" Amberly watched the camera for a response, waiting with bated breath before the camera moved up and down. "Am I ever going to be able to leave?"

No movement. The _I don't know_ hanging unsaid in the air. Deflating slightly, Amberly leaned back on the bed, hearing the time tick by on the clock, she was interrupted from her dozing by the creaking movement of the camera. Sitting up she watched the camera look at the door and then back to her before back to the door again. Amberly walked to the door and opened it, outside in a small pile was a book stacked neatly on top of some papers, a package of sharpened pencils beside.

"Thanks for the gift." She said, sitting down at the desk with her things, barely hearing the door close behind her. Amberly pushed the book to the side, _A tale of two cities_ , before picking up one of the pencils and pulling a paper out from the stack of papers. She tapped the pencil against her lip, chewing thoughtfully on the eraser before putting the tip of the pencil to the paper.

* * *

 _Time_ , Amberly thought, pushing the shaded piece of paper aside, it showed an old-fashioned watch, dangling on a chain with the protective glass broken and shattered into a million pieces. Showing different realities and possibilities to fill time. Amberly glanced over at the watch on her wrist, tracing the silver watch with gold lining and little gemstone circling the clock itself. Her stomach grumbled as she glanced again at the camera, it stared back at her, red light flashing like a warning.

Leaning back against the ridiculously comfortable chair, she would of thought that the chair would be harsh and uncomfortable to align with her imprisonment. Amberly sighed, applying pressure to the muscles along her arm, and glancing at the effect of shading that had left darkness against the side of her hand that was visible from the glove. She was kind of hungry, her stomach rumbling its agreement with that statement, but she didn't trust these people.

Who would?

They had practically kidnapped her inside of forest and told her to stay there forever, because they didn't even have a plan of releasing her. She crossed her arms, biting her lip, she hated the idea of feeling chained down, of being stuck in a room for hours with no term of releasement. Amberly sighed, pushing herself up and looking outside the window, night had fallen, and the dark sky produced an ominous feeling that she didn't like. Closing her eyes, she imagined a thousand stars twinkling against a dark canvas but when she opened them, the sky was as light polluted as ever.

Would Crystal be looking for her? Would she be worried that she wasn't coming back? Would Amberly every get back to her little sister? "You know, I told you about my sister, she's so young. She was only a few months old when I first saw her, a baby that had been in the same situation as me, a girl that had been there for five years. I wanted to protect her like how no one had protected me." She spoke, loud enough for the camera to hear, staring at the landscape of tall buildings.

Tears gathered in her eyes, but she swiftly wiped them away before their water could sizzle against her burning skin.

"We had each other, her and me, sometimes we got separated but we always came back to each other. We were unwanted by adults, but we wanted each other. She's my little sister." Amberly bitterly laughed, glancing back over to the camera. "You have your family and I have mine, we do the best we can to protect each other. Let me tell you a promise I made, I will get back to her, no matter if you agree or not. She is my family, and nothing can keep me from her for long."

Amberly stared down the camera, hoping that every other word she had wanted to scream was ringing loud in the person behind the camera's ears.

* * *

The test dummy made a ripping sound as Selene made a diagonal swipe, leaning to her left to the point where her knee bent, and her other leg became almost parallel to the ground. Straightening up, she sheathed her sword, and wiped her palms against her leather pants. She walked to the wall, scanning the tables and tables of swords, daggers, crossbows, regular bows, and ninja stars. Some weapons had fancy gems that glinted an array of colors under the fluorescent lighting.

She unstrapped her fingerless gloves, made of the same leathery material as most Shadowhunter gear and laid them out on the table with many different gloves in many assorted sizes accustomed to the family. Her sword was something she had selected and had chosen that was hers, a simple sword devoted to the Herondale's made of shinning silver and said to have been crafted with the heavenly fire.

The same that had burned inside her father when he was younger. Selene remembered him weaving stories of his battles to her when she first started to hunt demons, teaching her lesson after lesson about strategy and observing the enemy. Her mother had taught her runes, something Selene had not been particularly fond of, especially the newer runes. Sighing, she unsheathed the sword, feeling the hilt against her bare skin.

She also remembered when her brother was born, she hadn't been in the room, many silent brothers had been entering and leaving and she caught whispers of how he had been born with heavenly fire, burning through his veins.

Selene blinked the thoughts of burning flames away, moving the Herondale sword through the air as sharp as a knife, a beautiful dance she had practiced for years. Swinging the sword back and forth, creating circles around her fingers with the gem encrusted hilt. "It's almost dinner time, you know." A voice drifted through her haze and she quickly pointed the sword at the newcomer, sharp as lighting.

Gabriel was leaning against the doorway, an amused smirk on his lips and his arms folded across his chest. Selene rolled her eyes, sheathing her sword. "Has our _guest_ eaten yet?" She asked instead of answering, venom dripping from her words. She didn't like Amberly because she was unreliable, she was this new card that had been flung among the deck and was also dangerous.

"No. She's in her room, sketching. She's a good artist, almost better than your mom." The taunt hung in the air between them and Selene quirked an eyebrow at him, there was a pause of silence as he pushed himself off the wall. "You know, you're not being totally sly about your feelings. He's going to know about them if you keep hating the girl for no good reason." He said.

Selene folded her arms across her chest. "I do have a good reason. She's dangerous, did you see what she did to your sister? She almost burned Skyler. She _burns_ people, burns them." Selene raised her voice slightly, knowing nobody could hear them through the sound proof walls that shielded her from someone hearing them.

Gabriel nodded, "I know, I was there when she almost burned Skyler, which she had no control over. I also listened to the recording at the same time as you." He said, his gaze softening ever so slightly. "You only hate her because he is captivated by her, he has been since he first saw her. As his _parabati_ I can tell that."

Selene opened her mouth to retort, to say something that would deny it, that she didn't hate Amberly for that reason because Amberly was dangerous, but the words disintegrated at the tip of her tongue.

Gabriel turned back to the door, finding the confirmation that he had sought. "Amberly doesn't deserve your hatred for that, if she wanted to attack someone, I'm sure she would have done it already." He said, glancing back at her once, the words _I knew it_ written across his face. "See you at dinner." Gabriel lifted his hand in a half wave before he exited the training room, the door slamming shut behind him.

For a minute Selene stared at the door, her heart beating in her ears as final as a drum. Then she turned towards the tables and tables of weapons, grabbed the nearest dagger, encrusted with rubies and topaz gemstones before launching it at one of the targets with a frustrated scream. _Bull's eye_.

* * *

 **I'm so sorry for the wait, let's just say I had a major case of writer's block where any time I wanted to write a story I would have an excuse for not doing so. It kind of sucks and I'm really sorry that I left you all hanging for a few months. Jesus, I'm really mean. Sorry again but I hope that this chapter will make you kind of happy, hopefully.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Gold and Silver Angels: Gold and Silver. Opposites but equally beautiful. Fifteen years ago, Clary and Jace had two beautiful daughters, one with a gold locket, the other with a silver locket. Before they even had their second daughter for a day, she was taken away from them leaving a bloody trail. They buried their loss and raised their other daughter to never know of her missing twin. Fate draws the two together and spins them together in the tale of gold and silver angels.**

* * *

Chapter 5

* * *

 _"Vanish into the night with me, we're raising heartbeats. Feel the power arrest me like shadows on concrete. (Shadows on concrete) Gotta get away, gotta escape from the daylight. I can feel the way hanging beneath the moon. Hold on for dear life, until it's all gone. We'll come alive and set Fear on Fire."-Fear on Fire, Ruelle._

* * *

Rays of sunlight painted shadows across the orange backdrop of her eyelids and she stubbornly turned her head to the side, creating a small nest in her arms. The ticking of a large clock echoed, and the sound of movement forced her to open her eyes. For a minute, Amberly jumped in alarm, the room was so unfamiliar with its old-fashioned furniture and bold red paint that showed no sign of damage. Glancing down she noted that the papers were scattered on her desk and the top picture was smeared and not as grand as it had been in her sleep deprived state.

Amberly chuckled wryly at the idea, rubbing her sore neck with her hands, though the bed had appeared inviting, there was still a part of her that would feel vulnerable without a weapon. No matter the fact that her weapon just so happened to be paper and pencils. She glanced up in the corner of the room, the sleek, black camera from the night before was still focused on her, red light flashing like a warning.

"Morning." She muttered, stretching her sore muscles and checking to make sure her neck wasn't damaged from the lack of a proper place to fall asleep. She stacked the unfinished sketches together, there had been a face the night before but now that face was blurry and only haunting black eyes remained the only thing intact. She checked the time, stifling a yawn, "Wow, this is the earliest I've ever woken up."

The camera didn't respond as it had the night before, probably meaning that someone else was behind the camera lens instead. Amberly began pacing around the room, restless, her stomach ached with the thought of food and she had to use the bathroom. Otherwise she was worn into an anxious knot. Crystal at the forefront of her mind, the last time she had seen her little sister, the girl had refused to even look at her.

Chewing on her lip between her teeth, she rubbed her hands against her pants, digging little crescent moons into her fingers with her thumbnail repeatedly. It didn't ease her mind, but the pain refocused on the slight sting from the dent marks. "So, how long am I going to be here?" She finally asked, sliding her gaze up towards the camera, not really expecting an answer, the only person who had shown her an ounce of compassion was probably Skyler.

Selene was probably trying to figure out the easiest way to kill her. Gabriel most likely with her and Logan was, anywhere. An image of Selene and Gabriel wearing dark robes around a steaming cauldron arose in her mind and she stifled a smile at the thought. Amberly mentally added them in witch hats to complete the ensemble before being cut off by her stomach rumbling loudly.

Heat settled across her face as she blinked away the hilarious daydream and refocused on the camera. "Can I at least have something to eat? Or do you plan on tracking the progress of how long it takes for someone to starve in a fancy room?" She folded her arms across her chest, raising both eyebrows.

A minute passed.

Two minutes.

Four minutes.

"Fine. I can take a hint." Amberly lowered her gaze, her hope diminishing at the lack of response. Plopping down on the bed, she glanced with disdain at the books sitting on her desk, normally she loved curling up with a good book. Lost in the words of authors painting entire scenarios to life in front of her. But right now, her mind was too frazzled to focus on the books, making it pointless to read them. Sifting through the stack of papers they had given her, she flipped to the last picture, trying to recall what exactly it was an image of.

Slowly, an image of a pale faced woman surfaced in her mind's eye but vanished as soon as she focused on it. Amberly ran a hand down her face, dropping the papers onto the desk. Staring at the painting hanging on one of the walls, an image of an angel rising out of the water with a cup and sword in hand, she tapped her finger to her chin. The angel was beautiful, she supposed but she could guess that the face wasn't quite right, it had determination and the fury of avenging angels, but they forgot the gentleness and mercy. The focus was on the angel being as fiery as heaven but not as warm.

Shaking her head, she dismissed those thoughts, Amberly wasn't a painter, she wouldn't know how to paint an angel rising out of water nor instill the meaning it had to Shadowhunters. A firm knocking at the door shook her out of her thoughts and she stood up, pushing the door open. Skyler was outside, a nervous smile flittering across her lips before she squared her shoulders, determined. Amberly held the door open wider and the taller girl slid in, two plates in hand.

"I figured I'd eat with you." Skyler said casually, setting the two plates down on the table, there was a mix of many breakfast foods on the plates. Eggs, bacon, waffles, bagels, and even a chocolate chip muffin was arranged equally on each plate. Amberly felt her mouth water and her stomach growl impossibly louder, embarrassed she sat down while Skyler pulled an armchair over easily.

Amberly couldn't help but stare as she sat down, "How did you do that? Pull the chair over, I mean, it looks so heavy." Amberly asked as Skyler took a bite of her eggs.

Rolling up her sleeve, she gestured towards an inky black design on her upper arm. "It's a rune that gives me superhuman strength. We're Shadowhunters so we have different runes that give us different abilities. Stamina. Stealth. Sight. Protection. And all sorts of stuff in the gray book and outside of it." Skyler explained and Amberly nodded, it had taken a minute for her to remember all of the things she had learned from the Shadowhunter Codex and apply it.

She rubbed her arm, "This all kind of sounds crazy. Warlocks. Vampires. Seelies. Werewolves. And Shadowhunters, they're all real." Amberly sighed, chewing thoughtfully on a piece of bacon. They continued the rest of breakfast with small talk, talking about the Shadow world and mainly Skyler confirming what Amberly had read about and denying some of the things that she had found in different books. By the end of breakfast, they were somewhat comfortable with each other, the comfort achieved through having a lengthy conversation.

"So, would you like me to show you around?" Skyler said, stacking the plates together and putting the forks on the top plate. "I could show you the bathrooms, first, because you're probably going to need some clothes, then we could go to the kitchen, dining room, library, training room, art room, and maybe the greenhouse too." Skyler began to list off on her fingers, a smile on her face.

Amberly smiled back, "Thanks, for a minute I thought I'd waste away in here." She folded her arms across her chest, but the smile froze the minute her gaze snagged on the camera, uncomfortable. "But, wouldn't your friends be a little annoyed at you for showing me around, I don't think that they like me all that much." Amberly jabbed her finger at the camera.

Skyler shrugged, "There's not much they can do about it, you're not a prisoner here, contrary to what Selene thinks. Besides Logan and Gabriel don't not like you, they just don't know you."

 _They wouldn't even like me if they knew me_. Amberly bit her tongue, swallowing the words before they could even rise, she didn't want to whine and complain like a child when Skyler had offered to show her around. Forcing a smile that showed none of what she felt, "Well, lead the way." Skyler gestured for Amberly to follow her and she followed behind, feeling the gaze behind the camera prickle against her back.

* * *

Adjusting her feet, Selene pointed her sword at her opponent, a robotic test dummy that was withstanding some trial among Shadowhunters. Her uncle had been originally hesitant about using mundane technology with the help of their own technology to train the new generation of Shadowhunters but eventually allowed it. It was a new time after all with the loss of Idris still playing as reminder to what had happened almost seventeen years ago.

The test dummy rolled around on its wheels, maneuvering in a side to side manner at a medium level speed, it's fan lowly blowing. Some of the dummies had voice box implants that produced siren like sounds and wails to train them while others were simpler and just moved, shaped like pears. Selene waited for a moment, tracing the everchanging movement of the robot before she propelled herself forward.

She tried to instill her every emotion and feeling into the blows, calculating and recalculating her next moves as she leapt through the air. As programmed, when feeling penetrated the test dummy moved backwards, its speed picking up and fan whirling faster and faster in tune with speed. Selene bit back her annoyance at its evasion and shifted her balance backwards as the talons from the robot emerged.

Ducking, she narrowly avoided getting thrown to the side like a rag doll and tackled the bottom half of the robot, jamming her blade against its neck section and causing it to power off and go limp over her. Selene rolled out of the way as it toppled to the floor, one arm popping loose once again, stifling her annoyance she grabbed the arm and pushed it back into the spot where it was supposed to be. She eyed the robot smugly, before rolling it back to the other robots, some had even sustained lasting damage, dents in their prosthetic limbs.

Selene tightened her ponytail, feeling some of the frizzy curls loosen and frame her face in protest to being contained, her gaze sliding automatically to Gabriel and Logan doing hand to hand combat in one of the sections of the training room, where the floors were runed and there was netting that prevented too much damage. Logan had Gabriel in a position, holding him down with his legs, almost choking him and having his arm trapped. It was a new maneuver that her father was starting to teach them and as always Logan and Gabriel had to practice it at any chance they got.

She took a minute to observe Logan, the way his hair clung to his forehead and the determination in his beautiful chocolate eyes. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt that showed the muscles in his arms and the black shirt did nothing to hide the outline of his six pack. Selene felt the tips of her ears turn pink and mentally chastised herself for the thought, he didn't feel that way about her. Venomously she thought of the blond girl who had snagged his attention but maybe she shouldn't be so angry at her because it wasn't entirely her fault.

Her parents were totally wrong, love sucked. Selene thought with a huff, as she placed her sword back, the family print of herons in flight stamped across the blade. When she glanced over their way again, she noted that they were both laughing, and Gabriel caught her eye. His blue-green eyes dancing with mischief and mirth, she would never admit that her heart fluttered ever so slightly.

He lifted his hand into a wave, a mocking whimsical dance of his fingers before he lowered it, shock dancing across his features. Selene understood a minute later when she saw Amberly and Skyler standing in the doorway, walking through and laughing about something. Selene gritted her teeth in annoyance, Skyler had never opened up to anyone like that. "What is she doing here?" She walked over, trying to not seem as angry as she felt.

Skyler's smile vanished, and she folded her arms across her chest. "She isn't someone we can just keep locked up, contrary to what you think." She said, a small smile beginning to tease at the corners of her mouth. "I figured I'd show her around."

Selene opened her mouth to protest but the words disintegrated at the tip of her tongue and her eyes darted towards Amberly. Amberly wasn't looking at anyone, her gaze locked on the rows and rows of weapons, daggers, bows, sword, seraph blades, crossbows, staffs, and more. Some with glittering gems and some blending in with the dark shelves holding them up. She quirked an eyebrow in slight interest, "Well if you're done showing her the mundane parts of the institute, perhaps she might want to see the Shadowhunter parts." Selene commented.

Amberly's gaze snapped to her and Selene quickly dismissed the familiarity of those emerald irises. She seemed surprised at the sudden offer, and a part of Selene felt guilty for the attitude but another part of her was just as suspicious. A muscle in Skyler's jaw twitched and she opened her mouth to say something. "Good idea Lene." Gabriel said with a smirk, directing his gaze at Amberly.

"Gabriel." Skyler hissed at him in betrayal.

Amberly put a placating hand on Skyler's shoulder, before her gaze turned back to Selene. "I would really appreciate it." Skyler said nothing, but her posture relaxed slightly, and Selene felt a pang of envy spread through her heart. It was an action so much like the _parabati_ bond that it stunned her.

She plastered a smirk on her face. "Of course, follow me Amberly." Selene gestured with her hand for Amberly to follow behind her, she could see Logan move in her peripheral, but Gabriel stopped him with lowly whispered words and it was just Selene and Amberly. Glancing suspiciously at the blonde once again, she led them to the table filled with daggers first, picking up one that was simply made of _adamas_ with a ruby red gemstone glistening at the bottom of the hilt. "I suppose you know what a dagger is, considering it is pretty self-explanatory."

Amberly rolled her eyes, selecting a random one off the table, this one with a topaz gemstone at the tip and ivy wrapping around the hilt. She weighed it in her hand, adjusting her grasp of it. Selene was thrown back with the natural Shadowhunter-like grace she exhibited when holding it. Amberly glanced up suddenly and something in her expression hinted that she understood Selene's inner turmoil. "So, are you here to give me the protective talk?" She placed the dagger down.

Selene's lips quirked at the corners against her will. "You catch on fast." She said, before plastering an emotionless mask across her face. "I want to know what your plan is. Like are you going to stay here and face our questions or are you going to run?" Amberly seemed stunned and Selene placed the dagger back, moving onto the next row of weapons, beautiful bows that glinted in colors of gold, silver, and brass.

Amberly picked up a bow, with silver details of fairy wings fluttering up at each end, "I don't know." She breathed out a bitter, disbelieving laugh. "Everything in my heart is telling me to run but my head is telling me to stay because the past follows, it doesn't just stay where you want it to stay, no matter how much you want it to." Her hands trembled as she put the bow back on its shelf, continuing to trace the Fairchild mark on it.

Selene sighed, exasperated. "Well you need to make a choice." She was surprised by the harshness in her tone, maybe her envy was seeping through even more, and Amberly seemed surprised too.

She suddenly whirled around, her eyes flashing and flickering like burning flames. Selene was reminded of when her mom said that heaven must be a burning place filled with heavenly fire and that Edom was a freezing place filled with decay. "If you were in my shoes, with people you don't know and don't trust, would you stay? Would you stay, knowing that staying could mean abandoning people you love?" Amberly clenched her fist at her side before spinning on her heel and storming out, her golden hair flying like a banner behind her.

* * *

Dinner was silent and lonely, and her half-eaten bowl of stew grew cold on the nightstand, Amberly sighed, running a distressed hand through her hair. She had yet to sit on the bed, seeing it as a sign of giving in to the four of them. Flickering her gaze over to the door, she toyed with the idea of attempting to leave, find Crystal and Magnus. The thought of gray-blue eyes haunted her thoughts for a second, but she dismissed those ideas as fast as they had come. Besides, the one place Skyler hadn't shown her was the entrance, probably predicting that she would attempt to run.

 _Smart_ , she thought bitterly. Amberly flipped through her sketches, but found no inspiration despite the traditional, beautifully styled room she was in with the high ceilings and paintings of cherub angels.

"Amberly?" Someone whispered, the door creaking open and Amberly jumped up, grabbing the closest weapon to her and pointing it at the door without a second thought. Skyler looked bemused but held her hands up in the universal sign of surrender. "I don't think a pencil would actually be that threatening but good instincts." It was both a compliment and an insult and Amberly bristled at it but sheepishly lowered the dull-tipped pencil.

She sat down on the desk chair again, "What do you want Skyler?" Amberly asked, exasperated, the tour of the institute turned out to be a bust since Amberly probably couldn't find her way to any of the place without getting severely lost. Nevermind the fact that she somehow managed to reach her room in record time from the training room.

Skyler flinched, "I thought I told you to just call me Sky." She said before she shook her head. "I figured that you were bored-" Her gaze darted towards the camera and Amberly could guess that she had been watching her "and no one else is here so I figured that we could just hang out." Skyler said, sounding slightly feeble towards the end.

Amberly raised both eyebrows. "Wait, where is everyone?" She asked, standing up as Skyler tossed her an amused look, but there was some hidden purpose behind her actions.

"We got a call about some demons, I volunteered to stay here to 'watch' over you." Skyler used bunny quotes, "I wanted to talk to you some more, you're the closest thing I have to a girl friend here." There was a sadness that suddenly surrounded her, make the smiling girl from earlier disappear like a hallucination.

Amberly frowned slightly, "What about Selene? I mean she seems to want to protect you." _And Logan_. She mentally tacked on to the end of that sentence, suddenly realizing how they seemed to have been more centered around each other and paid less attention to Skyler, other than Gabriel. But she wasn't sure how much of that was friendship or just him being a brother that looked out for her.

"Selene-" Skyler laughed with disbelief, "and I have never been good friends. She's too focused on Logan or Gabriel or her parents or her brother. I mean, don't get me wrong, we've tried but we don't have much in common other than our care for the boys." She said, waving the matter away with a swirling motion of her fingers. Amberly felt a wave of sympathy bloom into her heart, Skyler seemed so lonely and was just looking for a friend.

Amberly plastered a smile onto her face, "What's it like having a twin? I mean everyone says that twins are always so close like on parent trap." For a minute she wished she had a twin, would they be close, would they look alike, or would they be like opposite mixes of their parents? But no matter what, they'd always have each other, like someone to always stick by her side and tell her when she was right or wrong.

Skyler smiled softly. "Don't get me wrong, Gabriel can be an overconfident jackass but he's always there for me." She traced a rune on her arm, a combination of swirling overlapping lines that were stark against her sun-kissed skin. "We used to be close when we were younger, always talking about things. Sometimes in the middle of the night when we couldn't sleep, we would go to one of our rooms and watch horror movies and make fun of the actors." Skyler glanced fondly down at the rune, "So, what is your sister like?"

"Well, we're certainly not twins, and I never told her about everything because I was trying to protect her from me. I guess that failed." Amberly glanced down at her hands, making a fist with her right hand. A rush of bittersweet memories flooded her mind, the first time she saw Crystal, looking so small and swaddled in a homemade blanket. "When we still lived in the orphanage, she used to get so sick all the time. In the middle of the night she would wake me up, saying she threw up and ask to sleep with me. I guess I made her warm when it was so cold. She even would sleep with me when she had nightmares or when it stormed."

"You miss her, don't you?" Skyler asked with a small frown.

Amberly blinked away the dampness that grew at her eyes, trying not to meet Skyler's blue-green eyes. "Yeah. I really do miss her, she's all I've ever had, for years." Skyler grabbed her hands, an intensity burning in her gaze.

"No matter what happens. If you choose to leave here and go anywhere in the world, you'll always have a friend here, in me." Skyler said with a small smile, a smile that Amberly returned. _Friends_ , she thought in an almost dreamlike state, she had never thought that someone would ever want to be there for her like a friend, not even Jessica who rarely talked to her outside of work.

"Thanks, and same to you Sky." Amberly could feel herself practically beam, a childish happiness blooming in her heart unlike anything she had felt in such a long time. A nervous part of her flashed a warning at herself to calm down, tone down the fire, but she couldn't help it.

Skyler flashed her a tentative smile, before walking towards the door, dropping Amberly's hand and Amberly frowned slightly at the sudden loss of contact before realizing that she had allowed human touch and could have burned Skyler. She opened her mouth to apologize but Skyler just turned back to her with a determined look in her eyes. "I don't think you need to stay here and be our prisoner. I'm going to take you to my dad and your sister."

Amberly felt her mouth go dry, anticipation at seeing her sister again taking over but also appreciation for Skyler, who was showing her so many kindnesses. "Thank you." Was the only thing she could whisper as Skyler smiled and led her from the room and down the long hallway. The hallway was beautiful and decorated with expensive-looking tapestries and paintings lining the corridor.

"You're welcome, besides I miss my parents and it would be good to visit them again." Skyler led the way, a question burned at the tip of her tongue, but she didn't bother asking it, they had already revealed so much about themselves to each other and Amberly didn't want to ruin it by asking too many questions.

* * *

The room that Skyler led her to was beautiful as well, but Amberly was beginning to realize that everything in the Institute was beautiful and had priceless artifacts that she could only dream of ever having. It was like the library, but not at the same time, with a wall of books and a bookcase against the opposite wall with another image of an angel rising out of water in the glass. There was a large desk filled with neatly organized pages and books stacked towards one corner. Against the wall, opposite to the door was an unlit fireplace with a mantel holding some pictures and a T.V. on top of it.

Skyler grabbed something-a _stele_ , she had told her earlier-off the desk and flipped through a black notebook with scribbled down symbols inside of it. Some that Amberly recognized from somewhere, she realized faintly, peering over Skyler's shoulder. "These are some runes invented by my godmother, she has a special talent for them." Skyler didn't elaborate as she flipped through it, selecting one rune with her finger.

Amberly said nothing, watching as Skyler sat the book back down and began copying the same swirling design into the wall, an orange, swirling vertex appeared against the wall. "A portal, right?" Amberly turned to Skyler hesitantly, unsure if she was right or wrong. For a minute she felt like a student who was trying to guess that answers to every question the teacher was throwing out to them.

Skyler nodded, a faint smile on her lips. "Yup. Now grab my arm." She held her arm out, "You wouldn't want to get lost in a portal, it'd be like getting lost in limbo." Skyler shivered and Amberly felt something unfamiliar crawl down her spine. Logan had helped her through a portal the other day, but he had not cautioned her against getting freaking _lost_.

Amberly compliantly grabbed her arm and forced herself to keep her eyes open as they walked into the twisting mess of orange. The portal had caused a gust of strong wind to blow in the room, pushing her hair off her neck. "Thanks for the warning." She muttered, it was like freefalling when they stepped through, dropping and spinning forever and ever. Her stomach lurched as they hit the ground and a wave of dizziness crashed into her suddenly. As everything came into clarity, she realized they were in an alley.

"We just have to walk for a bit." Skyler said, already on her feet and glancing outside of the alley as the portal zipped closed behind them. "I don't really like suddenly appearing there, dad tends to want to attack whoever portals directly into his room, it's considered to be slightly disrespectful." She turned back to Amberly with an amused smile, helping her to her feet as she adjusted to her surroundings.

Amberly walked along the wall, trying to keep herself upright. "Not all of us have been through portals before." She jokingly jabbed, and Skyler smiled, rolling her eyes as she began walking towards the front of the alleyway. Magnus's apartment building was across the street, standing tall and beautiful. Amberly tilted her head up, suddenly realizing how expensive his apartment was. Did Shadowhunter's just grow money everywhere? She wondered to herself, pushing away the nauseating feeling that slightly lingered in her stomach.

"You'll get used to it. Now come on." Skyler glanced both ways before they both crossed the street. Amberly followed her into the apartment building, going into the elevator- _lucky_ , Amberly thought to herself as Skyler clicked the floor-and walking down the hallway towards the door at the end of the hallway. Skyler stopped in front of it and knocked on the door, before walking in. "Door was unlocked, dads."

Magnus Bane was as exuberant as he was yesterday, wearing sparkling clothing and glitter in his hair. "I was wondering when you two would get here." He shot Amberly a slight glare, "I didn't realize that by letting you leave with an expensive watch would mean you show up two days later." Magnus said sarcastically.

Amberly immediately felt a pang of sadness, "Sorry." She averted her gaze to the floor, she didn't really know what else to say other than to apologize. She fished through her pocket and grabbed the watch, getting ready to hand it back to Magnus but he held a hand up. The upset look was gone and instead there was a fatherly look in his eyes as he shook his head at her. "I thought you would want the watch back." Amberly blinked in confusion.

Magnus chuckled, "That watch was a gift to me from a very old friend of mine, although some of it is new, such as the wings of the fair folk etched on it." He said and motioned for her to pocket it. "I want you to keep it, it's very special and will be very helpful to you in your time of need." Amberly felt even more confused because of the riddles he was speaking in, but his ageless cat eyes merely crinkled at the corners.

"Amberly!" Someone yelled, and Amberly felt the wind leave her in a big whoosh as Crystal launched herself into her arms. She was wearing a newly bought shirt and looked healthier than she had ever been in years. "I've missed you so much." She was practically glowing with youth and happiness.

Amberly blinked back tears, wanting to cling tighter to her little sister but forced herself to move away. "I've missed you too little sis." She managed a watery smile as she brushed Crystal's hair back from her forehead, the little girl's eyes were also shining, and she could see the apology written in them for how she had acted. Amberly didn't realize how much her little sister had grounded her, calming and soothing away all of her worries.

"I had so much fun! Max played all sorts of games with me while you were away, and Magnus also took me shopping to get some new clothes." Crystal twirled around, showing off her new shirt. Amberly forced herself to grin against the pang of sadness that struck when she realized that she had practically abandoned her little sister for almost two days. Crystal stopped twirling for a minute, seeming to realize how she felt. "It would have been more fun with you, and it's ok."

Amberly strained against her every instinct not to hug her. "Thank you. Love you sis." She tried not to sound so choked up.

"La la too honey." Crystal chirped back, blowing her a kiss. Amberly grinned as she pretended to catch it, before suddenly realizing that they had an audience. Both Magnus and Skyler looked ready to laugh but also somewhat awkward to intrude on a seemingly private moment.

Amberly felt her face flush, "I'm guessing Tessa and Jem are still here." She flinched suddenly, and Skyler looked curious but didn't say anything. Magnus nodded as the mood suddenly turned from family love to tense, like a coil that kept getting tighter and tighter before springing. She forced herself to smile, she wasn't going to run, she had to stay here, because she needed to know the truth.

She deserved to know the truth.

* * *

Carving another _iratz_ into her skin, Selene bit back a wince, she had wiped the demon ichor off her face and any exposed skin as per routine, but her skin still burned. Selene glared at her _stele_ before she shoved it into her pocket and wiped her hands on the jeans of her gear. The demon they had been called for had been rather difficult, the thing was ugly with long tentacles and sharp teeth and a tongue that slithered out like a snake when it spoke. The demon wasn't trained or anything but that didn't matter, considering its size.

"Well that was pleasant." Gabriel remarked, running a hand through his hair in annoyance as they approached the Institute. With the glamour, the institute looked abandoned, like a place where teenagers went to stake out with broken windows and no entrances. As her voyance rune picked the image apart and scattered it to the wind, she saw what it truly was with gleaming lights and a shining multi-colored glass image of an angel watching over the unaware mundanes.

"If by pleasant, you mean tedious, then yes. It was pleasant." Logan said, pulling a gum wrapper that had knotted itself in Gabriel's hair out from when he had gotten chucked into the dumpster. If they hadn't been in the middle of fighting a demon, she would have laughed to his expense.

Gabriel frowned, "You two are going to hold that over my head for a while, aren't you?" He scowled at both of them, pushing the doors open as they stepped into the foyer. Selene pulled her boots off, she would clean them off later along with the rest of her gear since the demon had exploded as per usual. "I'm going to go check in with Sky, see you two when our parents get home." Gabriel lingered for a minute, his eyes darting between Selene and Logan with an unfamiliar look in his eyes before he left the room, uncaring that he was tracking dirt into the cathedral.

Logan didn't say anything for a long time, seeming to gather his thoughts while Selene eyed his profile out of the corner of her eye. The stubborn set of his shoulders, the strength and intelligence swirling in his warm chocolate eyes, and the way his hair seemed to shine as if run through with milk chocolate streaks. Her heart fluttered in her chest and butterflies tapped against the inside of her stomach.

"Do you want to go to the infirmary?" Logan suddenly asked, and she shot him a curious glance, she wasn't so injured as to need to go to the infirmary other than a few fading bruises and some scrapes. "To bandage up." He clarified, and she nodded, feeling another flutter.

Selene walked side-by-side with him towards the infirmary, taking her _stele_ out and twirling it between her fingers unconsciously. Even though he was more than half a foot taller than he, she managed to match his longer strides. "What's up with you? You're so quiet these days." She blurted out and Logan tensed. Immediately she wanted to take back asking the question and cursed opening her big mouth but he just untensed and continued walking.

"You don't seem to want to talk either." Logan finally said, although he wouldn't meet her gaze, staring at the paintings lining the corridor. Both old and new, some of them had been in the Institute for more than a century, while others had been painted by her mother and grandmother.

Selene glanced at a particularly foreboding image with dark eyes and windswept light hair and mentally shivered at the image of Sebastian Morgenstern. When she was little and had no idea what he had done, she had always regarded the image with interest, thinking it was a warrior. "How can I? Ever since you met _Amberly_ , you've pushed me away." Selene stated, tearing her eyes away from the dark warrior.

"I haven't-" Logan's jaw locked in place and he gritted his teeth, "How can you hate her so much? What has she ever done to you?" He finally asked, seeming to swallow the protest of not pushing her away.

 _She took you away_. Selene wanted to say, but bit her tongue, "How can you constantly defend her? She almost burned Skyler in that alleyway. You don't even know her and yet it seems like you're picking her over us." Selene felt her voice crack towards the end and clenched her fists together, she wasn't weak enough to show how much it hurt to know that he was pushing her away for some stranger.

"I never said that! How can you constantly try and make me choose?" Logan raised his voice an octave and Selene was momentarily reminded of caged animal, he was running his hands through his hair, making it stick out in all directions. "Skyler forgave her, heck Skyler was the one who wanted to give her a tour of the institute. Plus, you didn't even want anything to do with her before that even happened." Logan lowered his voice, but his eyes burned with fire.

Selene opened her mouth to protest, but her throat and eyes burned, and before she could even say anything Gabriel had rounded the corner. He looked slightly frantic and out of breath, like he had been running. She bit her lip, turning her head away from the two and reigning in her emotions like casting out an imaginary rope that pulled them close to her. "What's going on Gabe?" She asked.

She didn't have to look at Logan to know that he was giving the same concerned look to his _parabati_. "It's Sky." Selene felt her worry spike up, watching as Gabriel took a deep breath and straightened his spine like the bearer of bad news. "Her and Amberly are gone."

* * *

 **Hey guys, so sorry about the first update, I did edit it before I updated but I guess I forgot to save the changes I made so the line breaks and the song lyrics weren't on the final copy. Really sorry for that and for the extremely long wait for an unfinished chapter, well sort of unfinished in terms of editing. Anyways thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Gold and Silver Angels: Gold and Silver. Opposites but equally beautiful. Fifteen years ago, Clary and Jace had two beautiful daughters, one with a gold locket, the other with a silver locket. Before they even had their second daughter for a day, she was taken away from them leaving a bloody trail. They buried their loss and raised their other daughter to never know of her missing twin. Fate draws the two together and spins them together in the tale of gold and silver angels**

* * *

Chapter 6

* * *

 _"In the changing wind, it echoes deep. Wearing thin the heart beneath. There's no place to call our own. Like a drifting haze we roam. Where do we go from here? Where do we go from here? How do you fly with no wings? How do you breathe without dreams? Where do we go from here?"-Where Do We Go From Here-Ruelle_

* * *

"Ok concentrate on Skyler." Selene's voice was commanding and firm. Logan glanced over at her thoughtfully for a minute, before returning his gaze to his and Gabriel's interlocked arms. Gabriel quirked an eyebrow at him, gesturing with a tilt of his head towards Selene. Despite his uncaring façade, through the _parabati_ bond he could feel the worry as if it were his own. They both were slightly worried about Skyler, the unknown of where she and Amberly had disappeared to.

Gabriel slid his eyes closed and Logan could feel the _parabati_ rune on his shoulder jump, before he slid his own eyes shut. He pictured Skyler in his mind's eye, the waves of her hair, the color of her eyes, and the color of her tan skin. The way her entire face lit up when she talked about comics and superhero movies with Luke and Becca. He felt the rune give another pulse before pulling him in a certain direction.

"I think we've got it." Gabriel's voice forced him to open his eyes. Gabriel's eyes were opened and with a shared nod, they both dropped each other's hands. Selene had her arms folded, and was watching them, he could feel her gaze burning into his face. The questions she had fired at him nipping at his memory. Was he wrong to trust Amberly? Was he wrong to see a golden heart in her? He wanted to smack himself upside the head or go on a demon hunt just so the restless energy would go away.

Selene drummed her fingers on her lower arm. "Well, where are they?" She stared down Gabriel and Logan was grateful that she had stopped looking at him and was now focused on Gabriel.

He also knew that Gabriel enjoyed riling Selene up, and that he was purposefully not telling her their location. That and because they were perfectly safe. "They're at papas' house." Gabriel finally said, pulling out some of the unnecessary weapons that he had stocked up in his gear in case there was a fight that might have snagged them away from the institute. Logan tapped a finger against his shoulder, even as Gabriel's _parabati_ , he still had a hard time getting through to him.

Selene groaned, "Seriously? Why would they even go there?" She ran a hand down her face but didn't start pulling off her weapons. Logan sighed, he wished that Selene would just give Amberly a chance, but it seemed that she wasn't even close to opening up to anyone other than maybe her younger brother. "Ok, let's go and get the girls." Selene began walking towards the doors of the training room.

Logan glanced over at Gabriel, seeing the tension in his shoulders. "Hey, you ok, Gabe?" He placed a hand on Gabriel's shoulder, surprised when Gabriel moved away from him. Logan frowned, glancing away, his gaze snagged on some of the Herondale swords that had been recovered and brought in or the newly forged ones. Some had been formed with heavenly fire when they had managed to shape it and forge swords with it.

Gabriel turned to him, his eyes showing none of what he felt but Logan could feel his rune pulse, showing that he was feeling a torment of emotions. Selene had reached the door and was turned towards them, her eyes watching them, but she didn't walk over. "I'm good, Logan. It's just, I feel like we're so divided. We're a team when taking down demons but emotionally, we're so divided." He muttered.

Logan sighed, patting his shoulder. There was nothing he could think of to say that would reassure Gabriel that they were close, when they weren't. Skyler had branched off from them a long time ago and Selene was pushing him away. Gabriel flashed him a grateful smile, and together they both walked towards the entrance. Even if he understood a part of what was going on inside Gabriel's head, he still felt like there was so much more being kept from him and it irritated the hell out of him.

Forcing his emotions down, he followed Selene as she led the way to the portal room, where they had all been taught to draw portal runes when they were younger. The entire new generation had been, and it had been weird when he was younger, and they were having classes with students across the world, from all sorts of institutes. The halls were always crowded, and every guest room was filled with young Shadowhunters.

Shaking his head at the nostalgia the hallways brought him, he glanced over the painting in the hallways, angels and famous battles framed in gold and silver and bronze. Some were framed in black, with designs in those frames and runes carved with care. Logan stepped into the elevator, clicking the button for the second floor and watching the doors close. Looking down through the glass elevator, he could see the elevator slowly raising them from the first floor to the second floor.

The journey took less than a second, but it felt so much longer. Especially with the silence engulfing every nook and cranny of the cramped room. At least in the hallway, there was more space to move and he could just stare at the paintings on the walls. Most of them were old but there were a hint of new ones, battle memories that Jocelyn Graymark had painted in remembrance to her time in three wars. The war of the Original Circle, New Circle, and against her own son and Selene's uncle.

He paused, glancing at one painting signed by JFM, it was Valentine Morgenstern reaching for the cup, his eyes filled with his vision of the world. She had managed to capture the stern set of his shoulders and the taunt skin stretched over his sharp features. The only thing that stood in his way was the hand holding the cup, forever out of reach to him. Logan shivered at the look in his eyes, Valentine wore the phrase 'If I cannot reach heaven, then I will raise hell' around his neck like an achievement.

Forcing his feet to continue movement, he walked the winding hallways with Selene and Gabriel, briefly wondering if they were looking at the paintings like he was. After what felt like forever, they reached the portal room, not saying a word. The papers had been scattered across the floor, and both him and Selene moved to pick them up and lock them into the drawers. Logan mentally rolled his eyes, his aunt sometimes forgot to clean up her papers and his uncle wasn't always there to clean up after her.

"You should really talk to your mom about her cleanliness in here." Gabriel remarked, arms crossed and standing by the doorway. He made no move to help them and seemed rather content to observe.

Logan jabbed a finger in his direction. "Don't complain unless you plan to help." He said, stacking the papers on the desk and locking them inside a drawer.

"Boys." Selene sounded tired. "We have a mission to complete." She reminded them, picking up a stele and twirling it in between her fingers. Logan watched the light dance on and off the end of the object, before tearing his gaze away to look at Gabriel. Gabriel wasn't looking at him but watching Selene with some foreign and unknown emotion flashing across his eyes before it disappeared, and the smirk was back on his face.

"Well then, draw the portal rune already." Gabriel commented, and Selene's gaze flickered over to him and she scowled before turning on her heel and walking to the opposite wall. There was a large space that was perfectly empty with the rune painted on it carefully, almost invisible against the dark wood. Logan watched Selene exhale before she traced the rune on the wall, a swirling orange portal whirling to life in its place.

Selene was the first to step through, her gold-streaked red hair flying behind her like a banner before it disappeared. Gabriel followed after her and Logan slid his gaze behind them, feeling the wind tousle his messy hair, before following them and walking through the portal. He kept his eyes wide open, even when the blinding light stung his eyes and dark spots danced across the edges of his vision.

He stepped onto the pavement, feeling the portal zip close behind him, the orange after glow fading after a while and Logan blinked. Gabriel was the first to move, walking towards the busy pedestrian-crowded street. "You know, we probably shouldn't bang down the door Sel, papa will probably get mad." He placed a hand in front of Selene, halting her in her steps and causing her to give him a furious glare.

Logan briefly imagined Magnus's face if they did knock down his door, he would probably toss them into a river. "He's right." He said calmly, flicking his eyes to Selene, who deflated but her grip remained tight on her seraph blade.

"Fine." Selene pushed past Gabriel's outstretched hand. "I'll try not to knock down the door, but there better be a reasonable explanation for this." Her eyes only softened fractionally, before she began the journey of weaving in between cars. Selene did it with practice and ease, having done it a million times before. All Shadowhunters had been trained to dodge and cutting across traffic when none of said drivers could see them was a task they had all been forced to complete when on a demon hunt.

Logan waited a moment before he hurried across, speed, planning, and making quick decisions were the best moves to make. He dodged a car by flipping in front of another, landing gracefully on his toes before completing the rest of his journey with ease. The apartment building was by no means small, rather large and luxurious with a mundane in front of the desk, that was fast asleep, snoring. "Grade A protection at its finest." Gabriel commented wryly.

Selene looked like she wanted to poke him but she forced her hand back to her side. "Right." She dragged the word out, eyeing the man, before she went towards the stairs and inched the door open. Their glamours prevented them from entering the elevator right away, since anyone could see the doors opening and closing. Plus, there was no mundane crowd to blend in with, so the stairs it was. "Ugh, why does your papa have to live on the highest floor he could?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes, beginning the climb up the stairs and turning to look at her briefly as she began to climb as well. "I thought you enjoyed training." He teased.

"This isn't training, this is pure torture."

Logan could feel through his parabati bond the happiness that filled Gabriel at the simple gesture of communication and talking. He and Gabriel used to be so close, but drifted apart for some reason that Logan had yet to understand and the bond had faded. He hadn't wanted it to, but he could only watch as it faded in front of his eyes. He didn't want to end up like Robert Lightwood and Michael Wayland, but he couldn't do anything as Gabriel continuously pushed him away.

He climbed up the steps, noting that his family was far ahead of him, but he was questioning everything. Sometimes he could feel Gabriel's emotions as clear as day, but other times it was like he was seeing through fog, not able to see five feet in front of him. Even if they had an early start, his longer legs allowed him to catch up with them within minutes. "Come on slowpoke." Gabriel tossed him a look over his shoulder, a small smile of understanding.

Rolling his eyes, Logan took two steps at a time, and Gabriel did the same, each competing against each other. "You two are acting like children." Selene huffed, her short legs making her a few steps behind them. She had inherited her mother's shortness, but she was only slightly taller than her mom. Logan and Gabriel turned to her at the same time, sharing only a brief look of contentment before they faced her.

"We are children." Gabriel stuck his tongue out, before they both turned back around and continued to climb the stairs, lightly bickering back and forth.

* * *

Drumming her fingers against the armrest of one of the couches in the living room, Amberly flicked her gaze down at her hands, before tucking them against her lap unconsciously. She didn't have her gloves, the fabric of the ones she had worn before had peeled away and even if solid objects didn't seem to suffer too much, but she didn't want to push the leather fabric of the white couch. Scanning the room, she eyed the pictures and knick knacks with slight interest, the pictures constantly flipped from photo to photo with glitter glistening on the frame.

There were also books lining every shelf, old and new, leather-bound books that took up a large portion of the shelf and small paperback books that peeked out in between. Amberly almost wanted to get lost in the pages, words painting scenarios in her mind, even if it was a spell book. Her imagination could turn the spells into reality, picturing the costs and benefits of what would happen if she used them and cast them.

"You like to read." Alec noted, making her gaze drag to him. He was seated across from her, his deep blue eyes watching her, reminiscent of blue violets. Amusement sparkled in the depths of his gaze, "You're eyeing our books like you want to get lost in them. I don't blame you, some of those books have wonderful stories and recounts of legends."

Magnus's green-gold eyes glistened as he briefly paused to pet his cat on the end, who had the same eyes as the warlock, before he sat down, sandwiched in between Alec and the armrest. "Ah yes, our collection is rather grand." He drawled, conjuring a glass of blue liquid. "But that isn't why you're here, is it?" Magnus interlocked his long, slim fingers with Alec's, his eyes knowing.

"I want to know why?" Amberly's gaze traveled to Tessa, who wasn't looking at her for once, her gaze trained on Crystal and another young boy. "Why would you abandon me like that, after I, after I-" Amberly swallowed, her throat burning, and she clenched her hands into fists. "After I burned you."

The man with salt and pepper hair, Jem, Amberly recalled his name, glanced over at her, his silver flecked eyes calm and gentle. There was a softness about him, in the look in his eyes and the brilliance of his smile. "Come on Crystal, Will." He stood up, motioning for Crystal and the grey-blue eyed boy to follow him. "Max wants to show you this new video game he got last week."

Max groaned, his blue eyes annoyed before he surveyed the atmosphere of the room. "Fine. Come on, you're going to love it." He turned on his heel. Jem followed after him, both hands holding Crystal and Will on either side of them.

Tessa looked both grateful and upset at the interruption, Amberly forced down her urge to run, but one glance at Skyler told her to stay. Even though Skyler wasn't in black leather gear, she could still see the sheath of a dagger bunching up Skyler's t-shirt. "I wanted to tell you, because I knew that you had to be who I was looking for, but I didn't want to scare you." She said, her fingers toying with a small thread on her sleeve. Tessa smiled wryly, "You were so young and maybe I wanted to surprise you with the truth."

"The truth? And what is the truth? You've been talking about how you wanted to tell me something, but you never want to outright tell me why." Amberly snapped, feeling her rage boil inside her like an inferno. "I'm tired of this, dancing around the topic. Just tell me. Tell me. I deserve to know." She dug her fingernails into her pants, feeling the sharp nails poke through the fabric and dig against her burning skin.

"Easy firefly. I'd rather not have my apartment reduced to ashes." Magnus commented, lifting one perfectly plucked eyebrow.

Skyler ran a hand down her face. "Papa." She hissed under her breath.

"Shush, Sky."

Alec rolled his eyes at the two of them. "Children, there is no need to fight." He said, holding his hands out in the space between them. His gaze traveled back to Amberly and he stood up, letting Magnus fall against the couch on his own with a muffled protest. He crossed the space in between in two strides and crouched down to her height. Amberly bit her tongue, forcing herself to not inch away like she wanted to. "Don't worry Amberly, believe me, I get the feeling of wanting to run." He smiled, but there was still seriousness in his expression.

Letting the words settle over her like a thick blanket, Amberly relaxed slightly, searching his eyes, only sincerity glistening in the blue-violet depths of his gaze.

Amberly turned her gaze back to Tessa, forcing herself to relax. That went out the window when she heard the incessant knocking on the door. "Jesus, we can't have a single moment of relaxation. Can we?" Magnus huffed, stomping over to the door and throwing it open. Her blood froze in her chest when she saw Selene, Gabriel, and Logan on the other side, decked out in gear with dangerous weapons glinting in the light of the hallway. "Come on in." He held the door wider.

The three inched past him, their gazes scanning before they rested on Amberly and Skyler. "Sorry, Uncle Magnus. But you have a criminal in here." Selene's gaze was cold and unmerciful and Amberly stood up. She inched away from them, her gaze darting behind her, but there was nowhere to run.

"Not a chance you three." Magnus interfered, stepping in their path. "We were having a lovely conversation before you decided to grace us with your presence, and we will continue our conversation, like it or not."

Selene narrowed her eyes, but she stopped her pursuit. "She is a criminal, she almost burned Skyler." Magnus didn't look too bothered by the idea and Amberly flinched at the mention, she could still feel the fire burning her from the inside out. Reducing her veins to ash that crumbled away and blew away in the breeze and melted her skin from off her bones. "How can you not care about that? Skyler is your daughter and you're just going to house someone who hurt her."

He crossed his arms, his back to Amberly so she couldn't see his expression. Alec stood up as well, walking over to Amberly and putting a hand on her shoulder. "The heavenly fire would never permanently hurt Skyler, if she wasn't fine, she wouldn't be here and therefore the fire didn't touch her. You also know that it's purpose is to burn away all that is demonic." Tessa spoke up.

Amberly needed to calm down, she felt cornered, like everyone in the room was surrounding her with poisonous words pouring from their mouths. Grabbing her locket from underneath her shirt, she began to toy with it, running the oval-shaped locket back and forth across the chain. The engraved marking in the locket rubbed against her finger, the gem in the middle poking her when she ran her finger over it. She glanced up for a minute and immediately locked eyes with Logan, his gaze was curious and there was a hint of recognition in his eyes.

Amberly quickly tucked the locket out of sight, safe underneath her shirt and burning against the skin on her chest.

* * *

"I'm exhausted." Izzy rested her head against Simon's shoulder, her eyes slipping closed as they walked towards the steps of the institute. "Those meetings always suck. Especially with the fact that we had to stay for so long. Alec even got to leave before us and he's the Consul." She picked her head up and pouted, before deciding that she was too tired to keep her head upright.

Jace wrapped his arm over Clary's shoulder, feeling her small frame against his side, and rested his head on hers. Clary shifted next to him, her other hand that wasn't interlocked with his fingers, holding the hand of their son as he played with his phone, guiding him. "How can you be exhausted? You're not the head of the Institute." Jace lifted an eyebrow, Izzy wasn't even directly required to be there, but she had come for the sake of catching up with her mom and making some arrangements with the fair folk.

Izzy turned her head towards him, her body tilting slightly as she stuck her tongue out at him. "I had to negotiate with faeries and deal with my mom." She said, "I do have a reason to be exhausted from all of that travel." She turned her head away from his sight, but he could see her rolling her eyes only slightly before her head was turned.

"Grandma kept pinching my cheeks." Luke muttered, his fingers tapping viciously against the screen of his phone. His green-gold eyes flicked up from his game momentarily before his attention returned to the game. Jace ruffled his hair sympathetically, with a smile, "Dad, you're messing up my hair." Luke whined, pausing his game to run his fingers through the strawberry blonde curls on his head.

He glowered in that preteen way of his before his attention snagged on his phone screen and Jace rolled his eyes. "Luke, put that game away before you trip on the stairs, _again_." Clary didn't even bat an eyelid at the protest that followed, giving Luke a stern expression.

"I'd do what she says, you know your mom's scary when you don't listen." Jace slid one eye closed into a wink as Luke huffed, before putting the phone into the pocket of his coat. Clary flicked his ear, "Hey, what was that for? He put the game away, didn't he?" Clary gave him an unamused look, before she rested her head against his shoulder and he smiled to himself, watching her features in the afternoon light.

Her bright red hair glistened against the sunlight and the individual freckles sprinkled across her nose made her even more beautiful. Jace kissed the top of her head before turning his attention back to the stairs of the Institute. The tall cathedral looked abandoned with the glamour, but beyond it was a beautiful building glistening gold with windows that reflected rainbows back to the city. "I'm so happy to be home." Clary mused against his shoulder, her voice muffled and when he turned his gaze back to her, he found her playing with the charms around her neck.

There were three charms on the necklace she toyed with the most, one that was hidden behind the front two that no one ever saw or knew the meaning of. A silver white gemstone 'A' that represented everything they had lost, a memory of long ago. Jace shivered at the thought of it, unable to look at the memories of his daughter. The one he never had a chance to raise because she was _gone_ , forever.

"Me too." Jace whispered, his voice thick with emotion and Clary tilted her head to look at him, her bright emerald eyes searching his. A second later she found whatever she was looking for and glanced down again. Jace squeezed her hand and she squeezed back, making him feel only slightly stronger. He would never truly get over the loss of his other daughter, he had wanted to see her hopes and dreams and visions. He wanted to know if she would have been like him or like Clary. What traits of their she would have had?

Clary squeezed his hand again, pulling him from his musings, her eyes knowing that he had been lost in his head. "Where are the kids?" He glanced up, Simon and Izzy were standing in front of the doorway, the doors of the institute pushed open and the dim lighting showing none of the faces of Skyler, Selene, Logan, or Gabriel. Simon sighed to himself, using his back to push the door further open and dragging both his and Izzy's luggage in.

Jace chuckled at the pained expression on his face, and Clary flicked his ear. "Go ahead in Luke, since you so clearly don't want to be with us adults any longer." She rolled her eyes and Luke flashed her a smile, grabbing his suitcase and running past the struggling Simon.

He and Clary had split the suitcases with him carrying a little more than her because she downright refused to let him carry them all. She was a trained Shadowhunter now and she had protested that she could carry her own damn suitcases. Luke had carried a few but he had his own suitcases and they hadn't really brought much for the weeklong stay in L.A. with the family in the Institute there.

Simon had finally managed to drag his and Izzy's suitcases through the door, mainly Izzy's, when Luke jogged back into the room, a confused look on his ten-year-old face. "Where is everyone? I thought they were supposed to be here and there is no sign of a note for going on a hunt." Luke grabbed one of Izzy's suitcases with ease, sticking his tongue out slightly at Simon who glowered at him.

Izzy pulled out her phone. "What do you mean?" She dialed her son's number into her phone, holding it up to her ear, before pulling it away with a frown.

"No answer?" Simon confirmed, checking his pockets for his phone before grabbing it and pushing his glasses up his nose. "I'll ask Alec if he's seen them." He held the phone up to his ear before pulling it away again and pressing the red end-call sign on the screen.

Frowning, Jace began reaching out to Alec through the _parabati_ bond, but he didn't get any feeling of danger, only slight annoyance tingling through their connection before he brought his attention back. Everyone else was staring at him expectantly, and Clary interlocked their hands again. "There's no danger from his side, but there is a bit of annoyance there too. But, then again, when is Alec not annoyed?" His best friend had grown up, but he would never let Alec forget when he had only ever been at war with the world and himself.

Izzy rolled her eyes. "I bet they're bugging him and Magnus." She said, before sighing. "I was hoping to get to relax and take a long bath, but we should probably go save them." By them, she most likely meant Selene and Logan since Skyler and Gabriel frequented between staying at the Institute and staying at their fathers' house.

"First, I want to get our stuff settled in." Clary raised her hand, "Then we'll go get them since I don't want to deal with this stuff later."

Simon groaned as he began dragging all the suitcases he could to the elevator. Jace laughed at his misery, smirking at Clary when she flicked him on the ear again, before grabbing his own suitcases and walking towards the elevator.

* * *

It was all becoming fuzzy to Amberly, like she was underwater, and the waves were dancing above and beneath her ears. Everyone, literally _everyone_ , was saying something, trying to be heard over one another. Amberly eyed everyone in the room, her gaze darting towards the door, unfortunately everyone was blocking her from getting to it. She would have to zig zag through them if she was to get there, and that would draw attention to herself. Amberly exhaled, she couldn't see a way of escaping an it felt like the world was crowding in against her, their words like knives against her skin and their eyes filled with poison.

"I don't like it either." Logan suddenly appeared at her side and she jumped, startled before turning to look at him. His gaze was on her, chocolate eyes stilling her in place and soothing her slightly before he glanced away. "Where did you get it?"

Amberly played dumb. "Get what?"

He turned his gaze on her, his eyes knowing and amused. "You know exactly what I'm talking about Amberly." Logan said, his hand reaching forward before he hesitated and lowered it. "It's just, I've seen a locket like that before, they are specially made by Magnus. Maybe that's why he's taken a liking to you." He mused, and Amberly's eyes snapped to Magnus, he was talking to Selene, his cat eyes flashing.

If what Logan was saying was true, then that meant that Magnus knew her parents. Maybe even why they abandoned her in the middle of a sidewalk. Amberly felt her heart pang in her chest, making her feel light-headed and dazed.

"I've had it since the day I was found." Amberly pulled the locket slowly from underneath her shirt, glancing down at the silver circular locket with a flower engraved on it and a little white fake-diamond in the middle. Logan carefully grabbed it, rubbing a finger over the surface, feeling the little dips in the lines along with the stone poking out. Amberly shivered, holding the locket so that their hands never touched.

He dropped his hands, his gaze traveling up to meet hers and he smiled boyishly. "You don't really like contact, do you?"

Amberly shook her head, "It doesn't matter whether I like it or not, does it?" She glanced down at her hands, watching the veins shimmer almost, perfectly in tune with her emotions. "I'll always burn people away. It's just the way I will always be, nothing will change that."

"Even if there was, would you change it? Would you get rid of it, if it meant that you didn't have to hide away?" Logan inquired and Amberly glanced back at him. She didn't want to admit it, but she knew that she couldn't get rid of it, deep down she couldn't. It was intertwined with her, it connected with her every cell, dancing through her blood. Amberly sighed, glancing back towards the people filling the room.

"I don't know." She finally whispered with a shrug.

Amberly eyed them all, it was mainly Selene, Alec, and Magnus that were talking loudly, with Gabriel occasionally chipping in with a smug little smirk. "Ok. That's it!" Skyler finally stood up, clapping her hands together. "Shut up, all of you." She said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Selene, this little petty hatred you have for Amberly is out of line and without any sort of reason. Now you two, dads you know better than to encourage her." There was a tiny hint of amusement in her eyes, but she frowned deeply at them to cover it up.

"I wouldn't call it encouraging, Sky." Gabriel said, his infuriating smirk still carved into his lips and Amberly rolled her eyes. "More like poking fun."

Alec facepalmed before flicking Gabriel's forehead. "We were not doing either." His face suddenly twisted in surprise as he put a hand on his shoulder and he checked his phone. "You didn't leave a note for your parents, did you?" Alec's gaze went between Selene and Logan. Selene only looked slightly guilty and Amberly only eyed Logan from the corner of her eye, but he only looked amused more than anything. At least to her. "Your fathers just tried to reach out to me."

"Why wouldn't they reach out to me?" Magnus crossed his arms and pouted, after checking his phone.

Alec gave him an unamused look. "Because you still pretend you don't know Simon's name. You called him Sheldon- _again_ , might I add-last week." He stated in a flat tone.

"Fair point."

Tessa rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Only you, Magnus. Only you." She said, before her gray-blue gaze traveled to Amberly and all sense of humor left her expression, replaced with a tentative look laced with pain. "Maybe we should wait till Clary and Jace get here." Tessa's gaze traveled to Selene, who looked slightly confused by the sudden attention. "It might make this a bit easier."

Magnus threw his hands up. "Oh hell no." He jabbed a finger in Tessa's direction. "I'm not going to let my apartment be burned to the ground by that tension, no offense firefly." Magnus suddenly said flashing Amberly an apologetic look briefly before turning back to Tessa. "You all can have your angsty, dramatic story time at the Institute. Y'know, where you're all supposed to be." He snapped his fingers and a big bin of buttery popcorn appeared in his arms. "I will, however, watch."

"Don't look at me. I can't do anything about it." Alec said in response to Tessa's exasperated look, grabbing a piece of popcorn and eating it.

Amberly dragged a hand down her face, "I'm never going to get my answer, am I?" She eyed the popcorn, before shaking her head. She folded her arms across her chest, "So, are we going to take another rune portal?" Amberly felt slightly wary at the thought of another uncomfortable, spinning portal.

"No." Magnus waved a hand, blue sparks dripping off his fingers and thankfully, for him, away from the popcorn in his other hand. "We'll be taking one of my much more comfortable portals." He handed the bin to Alec, who took it without complaint and began waving his hands around, weaving a spell which conjured a glowing blue spinning vortex. Amberly glanced into the blue depths of the vortex, she could faintly see the colors on the other side, blurring in and out of focus.

When she glanced away from the portal, she found Selene's gaze on her, her golden eyes staring holes into her skin. "I'll be holding onto Amberly." She said, making no room for argument as she grabbed Amberly's arm and pulled her to the portal.

Amberly wanted to argue, wanted to protest that she was a person, not a thing. That she wasn't just some dangerous, demon, that planned on murdering innocents. But any of her protests could be counteracted with the fact that golden fire filled her veins, churning and waiting for a moment of weakness. Instead she matched Selene's steps and stepped through the portal. She tried to keep her eyes open, but the blinding light soon became too much for her and she closed her eyes, trusting that Selene wouldn't just drop through the place in the cracks of two different places.

The room they teleported in was the training room, which was empty of people with the weapons gleaming proudly on the walls and the lights flickered off. Someone turned the lights on, and Amberly forced down the queasy feeling stirring inside her stomach. Her hand moved at her side, she itched to have pencils in her reach, so she could draw and capture the swords and weapons in the room into a grainy image. She wanted to capture the high ceilings and the tall windows that filtered in late afternoon light.

Amberly sighed, coming back down to earth. Skyler had mentioned an art room, maybe she could get lost there, it might be her own safe haven from the madness taking over around her. Rushing at her in every direction. Selene released her grip on her arm and Amberly was grateful that she had only touched the clothing-covered part of her arm and not her bare skin. "Mom and Dad will be here in a minute." Selene said, sliding her phone back into her pocket.

She didn't grab Amberly's arm again, but she remained close, a silent promise that Amberly couldn't run.

Instead she watched the door, her eyes tracing over the features on each door and how exactly she could trace those lines on a piece of paper. Magnus suddenly snapped his fingers and all of her duffel bags appeared at the door, and she glanced back at him, curious. "You have that look in your eye that you want to draw." He shrugged at her, flicking another piece of popcorn into his mouth. Amberly slid her gaze over to Selene, before she tentatively went and grabbed her bag, pulling her sketchbook out after sifting through a few things.

The flimsy papered sketchbook felt comfortable in between her fingers and she quickly flicked through it, pushing some pages together in case Selene was peeking over her shoulder. Now that she looked at it, there were a lot of images of the Shadow world, images of fair folk dancing in fields of flowers wearing crowns of flowers and leaves woven together. Images of angels wielding swords with the power of heaven in their glowing eyes. There was one image of an angel, one that was standing in front of a crowd of mundanes and Shadowhunters, protective.

"They're beautiful." Selene whispered, her hand reaching out to touch the page, the charcoal barely smudging underneath her fingers. Amberly bit back a smile, flipping to the next page, an image of the city. It had taken her a long time to do, even now, she wanted to fix some details of it, and it wasn't as mystical as the angels and fair folk, but it was beautiful in its own way. "I've never been that good at sketching, I prefer painting." Selene admitted, before her gaze turned back to the door and she straightened her spine, preparation in her movements.

Amberly eyed Selene out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't help but see some of their similarities, they were both strong willed in their own right. She would do anything for Crystal and Selene would do anything for her friends and family. The door opened, and five people walked in. Amberly felt her eyes widen and she took an involuntary step backwards. Tears pricked at her eyes and she felt like she had swallowed a rock.

In front of her were two familiar faces, but so unfamiliar.

The faces that haunted her every night. That stared back at her from the small image in her locket.

Her parents.

* * *

 **Ha. Ha. Ha. Suffer with the cliff hanger. Ok, sorry, I know that I'm kind of dragging it out, but I want it to happen in a certain way and it kind of needs to happen in a certain way. Anyways, I'm kind of sorry for the cliff hangar and sorry it took so long for me to update this filler chapter, because that's essentially what it is. A filler chapter. Thank you for sticking by me for all of my sudden absences and crap, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the story so far. There's so much more to come, I promise but it might not follow some of the guidelines of Cassandra Clare. Just saying.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Gold and Silver Angels: Gold and Silver. Opposites but equally beautiful. Fifteen years ago, Clary and Jace had two beautiful daughters, one with a gold locket, the other with a silver locket. Before they even had their second daughter for a day, she was taken away from them leaving a bloody trail. They buried their loss and raised their other daughter to never know of her missing twin. Fate draws the two together and spins them together in the tale of gold and silver angels**

* * *

Chapter 7

* * *

 _"I'll be the light and lead you home when there's nowhere left to go. I'll be the voice you always know when you're lost and all alone. I won't let you go. I will find you here inside the dark. I will break through no matter where you are." Find You-Ruelle_

* * *

Her first foster home was nice at first, the man and wife smiled at her often. _Fake smiles_. The only downside was the whispers that followed her from room to room. The last day she was there, she tripped over a floorboard and broke three plates along with her nose. And as the blood gushed from her nose, they called her a freak and she was soon sitting on a curb, drenched in rain with gold liquid in between her fingers.

Her second was only slightly better, she was older, but her head was filled with fantasies. She asked for a sketch book since it was getting close to the day she celebrated her birthday. They didn't get her one and when she asked later, they said they were sending her back. She didn't understand why.

By the third one, she knew better. She had spent so much time in between, that when she went, she was prepared to awe them. She wasn't prepared for her foster father's fingers to burn once they touched her arm. She wasn't prepared to be chased out of the house by the woman, screaming that she was a demon who invaded her home.

The other ones were separate examples of disappointment, some couldn't afford to raise her, living from check to check and they failed the test. Some chased her out because she was a freak. And others chased her out because she broke something and asked for too much. They called her ungrateful and worthless until the words became engraved into her mind. The ones who couldn't afford her tried, but they couldn't do it, they soon slipped away like grains of sand through the hourglass.

Amberly blinked.

She blinked away the memories of her childhood, pouring through her mind and she could almost see the fire burning inside her heart. Spreading through her veins and burning away her skin until she was nothing more than fire, blazing in brilliant colors. Pulling herself back towards the ground, she inched away. Someone was speaking, someone was asking questions and she didn't have the answers. _I don't want to hear the answers. Let me out. Let me out!_

Her gaze trained on the woman who resembled her mother. Brilliant red curls splayed over her shoulders, pale skin with light freckles sprinkled across her nose and emerald green irises staring at her. She had tried to commit every detail of the picture to memory, but it had grown so faded over the years that she almost couldn't see the brilliance of her mother's eyes. Amberly was shaking, her face slack and her heart pounding in her ears.

The man next to her was significantly taller, with golden hair on his head, glistening in the light with strands of platinum, blonde, and dirty blonde. His eyes were gold as well, almost the same shade as his hair but only slightly darker and his skin was tan with not the slightest trace of blemish. He had a chip in his incisor. Amberly back away, Selene wasn't at her side anymore, at least she didn't think so. She didn't know or understand anything.

"Hey. It's ok. Just breath. Ok. Just breath." Someone was whispering in her ear and she turned her head, looking into blue-gray eyes. Tessa was watching her, her eyes calm and pulling her down to Earth, where she could finally register things.

"Who is she?" The woman's voice filtered over to her and Amberly tried not to sag against Tessa, she didn't want to understand but a small voice was whispering in the back of her mind and her locket burned against her chest. She didn't know when she had tucked it away, but she had at some point, wanting to hide it forever. Exhaling slowly, she turned back to the five people who entered, taking note of everyone else.

The other woman had sleek black hair that fell to a little beneath her elbows and sun-kissed skin with dark eyes that were smoldering. She looked like a dark-haired barbie, almost, but maybe even more beautiful. The man next to her had wavy medium brown hair with sun-darkened skin and light brown eyes wearing nerdy glasses.

Amberly's gaze snagged on the young boy, with strawberry blonde hair, more blonde than red, with tan skin and green, gold flecked eyes. He had a phone in his hands and looked young, but he was almost as tall as the red-haired woman. "We're not entirely sure what she is, exactly. All we know is that she almost burned Skyler during a demon fight a few days ago that she was not supposed to be a part of and that she has the sight." Selene reported, her voice carrying through the fog and clearing it.

"Oh." The man quirked an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly with a smirk. "So, you're a warlock, then. Problem solved."

"Didn't realize I was the problem." Amberly muttered to herself.

Tessa shook her head, her presence still lingering next to her. "No. She can bare marks, she is a Shadowhunter." She said, narrowing her eyes slightly at Jace. "Hate to break it to you, but no, 'problem' is not solved."

Amberly raised a hand. "Problem has a name and is literally right here."

"So, is she like you with a Shadowhunter mom who was removed from the shadow world and then conceived with a demon?" The man fumbled for words slightly towards the end, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Amberly ran a hand down her face, she didn't want to be here anymore. She could do without all of this; these emotions would only cause her and everyone else pain. Pain that could easily be avoided if she disappeared.

"Can I leave?" Amberly asked. "I don't think that it's a good idea that I'm here and could burn all of you. So maybe, it would be a good idea for me to go."

Magnus shook his head, snapping his fingers for a refill on his popcorn and Amberly raised both eyebrows, she couldn't believe that he had already gone through that entire in. Well, Alec probably helped to, but she still couldn't believe it. "Sorry, firefly, but you should probably be here. You need to hear the entire story, it's for your own good." His lips tilted into a wry smile and he looked like he wanted to say more be hesitated.

Amberly got his point, though.

They didn't want the mundanes to turn to nothing but ashes. It sparked a memory, a pile of ashes in an arm chair with a needle that was half-filled with gold liquid. Screams that nicked at her heart and bright lights accompanied with loud sirens.

Selene furrowed her eyebrows, her hand toying with something at her throat, a flash of gold nearly blinding Amberly. The habit reminded her of what she did when she was nervous, and a wave of nausea traveled through her blood. Her head felt too heavy, like she would tip over and sink far, far, far away from the words and stories and looks. "I don't understand Tessa; how do you know Amberly? Why would you give her a Shadowhunter codex? What's going on?" The questions tumbled from her mouth, her gold eyes scanning Amberly as if the answers would suddenly write itself on some hidden part of her skin.

Tessa raised a hand, a silent gesture for everyone to be quiet. The air-conditioner hummed for a minute, the fan kicking on and the noise echoed throughout the quiet training area. Amberly was keenly aware of the mass number of weapons stacked on every wall, the high ceilings filtering in light and the back wall showing a blur of green colors.

When Amberly looked at Tessa, the brunette's gaze wasn't on her, for once. Rather it was focused intently on the red haired room, Tessa's teeth nibbling on her lip as she watched for several minutes before opening her mouth, she closed it in a split second of trepidation. The woman seemed surprised at the look, her emerald eyes widened fractionally before resuming their normal wide-eyed size. "Tessa, tell us what's going on, from the beginning." Her words seemed to bring Tessa from nerves and her grey-blue gaze traveled from the silver band around her finger.

"Fifteen years ago, you told Jem and I about-" Tessa inhaled, "your daughter. Not Selene, the other daughter." The woman nodded, tears filling her eyes and the man gripped her hand in his, warning Tessa with his golden eyes of the sensitive topic.

For a minute, the family seemed in shambles. Broken and tattered behind repair as Selene stared at her parents, already knowing the tale while the little boy glanced up from his game, his expression confused. Amberly took a step back, inching away from the scene, grateful no one's gaze strayed towards her. If she could just get past the people in front of the door, she could run. Get as far away as possible. She didn't want to. She couldn't do this, it was like ripping out her heart and showing them the remains where everything else had been broken and shattered.

Tessa cleared her throat, almost choking. "You told me that your daughter had died. For years I believed you until I heard whispers from the Shadow Market. It took years for Jem and I to follow the bloody trail, it led us on a wild goose chase and we gave up for a little to raise Kit and Will." She smiled, the look almost bitter. A fist tightened around Amberly's heart, squeezing relentlessly. "We started again when the whispers grew louder, and everyone was claiming to know that something demonic happened that night. There were whispers of a mundane with fire in her veins and I went there."

This time she looked at Amberly, her gaze causing everyone else to look at her and she felt their gaze burn holes in her face.

"I went alone." Tessa continued, a far-off look in her eyes as she recounted the details. "Jem had stayed behind for Kit and Will. Sure, he went with me a few times, but he was mainly with them. When I met you, you were so young and so full of light. I was drawn to you and watched as you kept getting fostered and adopted repeatedly but always sent back. I waited a long time to approach you, watching as you adopted a little girl as your little sister, sticking by her because she held your hand."

Amberly stared back at her, confused but a small voice in the back of her head whispered she already knew the answer. "Why? What do I have to do with their daughter?" She whispered, tracing a finger along her palm, feeling the warmth underneath her finger.

Tessa exhaled, closing her eyes tightly. "I wanted to introduce myself to you so badly, I almost did, so many times. But I couldn't bring myself to drag you into our world." She ran a hand down her face. "When Luke Herondale was born, I went back here and swore to myself that I would leave you alone. Months went by, and then Luke started to show signs of the heavenly fire, his blood turned gold, and we drew it out of him through the rune for shaping it and it ended up in the care of the Iron Sisters and Silent Brothers."

The little boy, Luke, Amberly realized, looked intrigued and both of his parents grabbed a hand. Amberly glanced over at him, watching the light glint off his hair, catching both the red and gold brilliance of his hair. He looked so young and curious, but also confused, he had had no idea that he used to have golden blood, like Amberly still had.

The golden-haired man held up a hand, firm and resolute. "Tessa, stop! Just, stop!" His breathing was labored and there was a sheen of mist in his eyes. He closed his eyes before reopening them, but he wouldn't look at Amberly. "Our daughter died fifteen years ago, you didn't see the room, but we did. There was blood everywhere, it coated the floors and the walls. She was murdered, that's it." A tear fell from one eye, glistening on his cheek as it left a pink trail in its wake.

The woman next to him was silently sobbing and the other man was by her side, soothing back her hair and glaring at Tessa. "Why didn't you tell us?" He whispered, the question echoing in the room.

Amberly felt like she was burning, her mind was swimming with details. She had been found on a highway, she reminded herself, the people in front of her weren't her parents. It was just hopeless wishing that they were. Because they weren't, their other daughter was murdered, and she was clearly alive. She couldn't be their daughter, she couldn't be their daughter, she wasn't their daughter.

Everyone in the room looked sad, and both the man and woman, _they're not my parents_ , looked like they had been carrying a burden that had weighed too heavily on them. Even Magnus looked saddened, but he wiped the look from his face, his brow furrowing in confusion as he looked at Amberly. "Jace, Clary. I'm sorry. I know this is dredging up old wounds that never healed. But you told me the name of your daughter. You showed me the matching silver and gold lockets." Tessa said, her voice loud and only carrying a slight tremor. "Can't you explore the possibility that maybe your daughter was born with heavenly fire, maybe her blood is golden colored?"

The woman, Clary, held up her hand, her voice carrying a warble and sounding choked and filled with misery. "No. We can't." Clary said.

"Why not? Why is it so hard to even consider it? You'd rather abandon your daughter, knowing that she could be alive." Tessa's voice was filled with disbelief.

Jace exploded, his eyes burning with rage as he left Clary's side and took long strides closer to Tessa. "Because we have mourned her! We have mourned our daughter and we still do because she was our daughter that never had a chance to live!" A sob cut through his words and Amberly felt tears fill her eyes, what if her name wasn't even Amberly? What if the locket she wore around her neck was just a cruel way to mock the broken parents? Her hand went to the locket and she had never felt so detached from anything, any emotion she could have felt disappeared because maybe, her life was just a lie. "We can't accept it." He finished. Clary hugged him, her small frame holding him together, her eyes squeezed shut with tears cascading down her pale freckle-dotted cheeks.

Amberly squeezed her eyes shut tightly, feeling a sob build in her throat but she swallowed it, because she didn't deserve to cry. She was just a fake, she didn't even know her own name because she was wearing the name of a dead child. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She hiccupped, grabbing the silver locket that she thought belonged to her and unchaining it from around her neck. She felt hollow without it, like a large piece of her had been removed with it.

"Amberly, no-" Tessa said, trying to catch Amberly's arm, but she moved away from her, all of her foster homes were right, she was just an evil demon. _Maybe they should just kill me like that demon in the alley._

A sob ripped out of her voice and she held the locket away from her, barely seeing it, seeing the named engraved on the back. _Amberly_. "Amberly, that's the name of their dead daughter, isn't it?" She felt like she was suffocating. She shook her head, "I don't even know who I am. I'm not their daughter. I'm not anyone." _Worthless, freak, demon_. She turned, forcing herself to look Clary in the eye, the woman was watching her with her mouth open in shock, _it's horror, she hates the sight of me_.

Dropping the locket in Clary's hands, she ran, hearing Tessa calling her the name of a dead girl.

* * *

 _I don't even know who I am. I'm not their daughter. I'm not anyone._ Jace felt like he had been slapped across the face, the burn sinking into his skin. The girl was so young, and she looked like the opposite of Selene. He had looked at her, seen the girl with eyes filled with shock, with memories flicking across her vision, pulling her so far away. The words she choked out haunted him, making him choke on his words.

He was surprised when he called for her to come back. "Amberly!" He yelled, tearing away from his wife and following the girl. He could hear Clary yelling after him, her voice becoming muffled with sobs and he wanted to go back. A part of him wanted to go back, but he couldn't just let the girl be alone. Jace had never been one to be hopeful, but looking at her, watching her break and crumble away in front of him and watching her take the silver mirror of Selene's locket out from underneath her shirt had filled him with almost a mad hope.

He burst through the door to the greenhouse, his eyes frantic as he swept his gaze over the area. There wasn't a fair head of golden hair to be seen in the night, the dark blue sky like an empty canvas above him. Jace ran a hand through his hair, trying to slow his racing heart and think.

Once his thoughts settled, he heard it. A sob. Followed by another and another.

Wincing, he followed the trail, and saw her. She had golden hair that framed her face in soft waves falling over her face in that moment as she hugged her knees to her chest, burying herself in her knees. She looked broken and one of her hands was clutching at the fabric on her shirt.

Jace crouched down in front of her, not making a sound, before he gently grabbed one of her hands. She froze, glancing up at him through her long, black lashes, emerald eyes glistening with tears, that overflowed and spilled down her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She buried her face back in her knees, rocking slightly back and forth.

Tentatively he reached a hand out to brush her hair behind her ears. "Don't cry. Don't cry. It's not your fault. It's never been your fault, Amberly." Her head shot up and she stared at him in shock. Jace smiled slightly, hoping that he was comforting her, and not frightening and breaking her even more.

"No." She was shaking, her head moving back and forth. "No. No. No. My parents abandoned me. They left me on a highway. Whoever murdered your daughter is playing a sick, twisted joke on you. I'm not her. S-She's dead."

Whoever had done what happened fifteen, almost sixteen, years ago did play a trick on him, but this, this wasn't a trick. This was real. She was real and alive and sitting in front of him, a branch of leaves in her hair. "I don't think so. By the Angel, you look so much like Clary. I've looked into her eyes for almost two decades, I know her eyes anywhere and you-you have them." He cupped her soaking wet cheek in his hand, her face was warm and her eyes flashed gold. He couldn't help it, he saw so much of Clary in her, in the faded designs on her arms made with pen, in the beautiful, emerald color of her eyes.

"P-P-Please don't touch me. I don't want to hurt you." More tears fell from her eyes, and he brushed them away. "I've burned so many people. Please, I don't want to hurt you. I can't hurt you." She sobbed.

Jace hugged her, feeling her tears soak the shoulder of his shirt and her hands lay limp at her sides. She was so warm, like a burning fire that produced so much heat and warmth. For a minute, he closed his eyes, feeling content even if the position was a strain on him slightly. He pulled away, standing up and holding a hand out to her. She looked up at him, her green eyes wide and she glanced at his hand. "Don't worry Amberly. Just, come with me." A minute passed before she took his hand, her hand burning hot against his skin, but he ignored it, grabbing a stele and applying a fireproof rune to himself.

It dulled the burn and she watched him, her gaze curious. Jace led her gently back inside, towards the training room. Even if he could see so much of Clary in Amberly, he also saw himself, saw the way she wanted to protect them from herself, in a way like how he had once valued the phrase, 'to love is to destroy, and to be loved is to be destroyed.' Jace had been so angry at Tessa for even bringing up his lost daughter, but now, he couldn't help but be grateful that she had sought Amberly out, otherwise the lie would have continued.

* * *

The room had exploded in a sound of motion, her father yelling for Amberly to come back, the words ringing in her ears, her mother collapsing to her knees, clutching the silver mirror to Selene's locket to her chest as if it was her life-line. Selene stared uncomprehendingly at the far wall, she didn't understand. Amberly was her, her sister. Her twin sister was alive, and she was Amberly. The girl that she had hated for not only Logan but for having the same name as someone she had lost.

She remembered when she was eight and her parents had sat her down and told her about the other baby in her locket. Selene had cried so loudly as an eight-year-old, that it had woken Luke up from his nap and that some of the young Shadowhunters who lived there had mocked her for it. When she was younger, she used to envision the other baby, growing up with her and they would play together in the greenhouse, playing hide-and-seek while the other kids would laugh to her expense. After that day, the games had stopped, and she had buried herself in her training, training to fight demons, to avenge the sister she had never known.

To avenge the imaginary friend, the friend that could have been a reality.

Logan, Skyler, and Gabriel had been her friends during that time period and she had told them that she had had a twin, but the twin had died during childbirth. She didn't want to tell them why she had concentrated on training to be the best.

"Selene." Luke whispered, his eyes filled with horror. "You knew? You knew that we had, that we had a sister. Why didn't you tell me?" Luke looked like he had gotten slapped and his phone dropped to the floor, the paused game screen cracking slightly at the corners as the phone hit the ground. Selene looked at him, or tried to, but she couldn't focus, she couldn't focus on the fact that her sister, her sister was _alive_. The sister her parents had mourned for years was _alive_.

"It was my fault." Her mother sobbed, pulling the locket away from her chest and Selene saw the silver glisten on her palm, tears on the top of it. "I should have known. How couldn't I have known? She's my daughter and I didn't know. I didn't know." Her mother didn't look like the composed woman Selene knew, she looked shattered, like her world had shattered and everything she had believed and mourned had taken a turn she didn't expect.

Selene shook her head. "No mom. No, it wasn't your fault. It wasn't. She's my twin-and I never, I never even realized. I disliked her because she had the same name as my twin, what kind of sister does that make me?" Luke was looking back and forth between Selene and their mother, as if he couldn't understand what was going on.

Uncle Simon clasped his hands together, "Ok, this is nobody's fault. Nobody is to blame for any of this. Now, we need to calm down." He said, before his eyes softened. "Clary, you need to get up. I know that you feel so lost, but you need to get up, for Amberly and Selene and Luke. They need you." He crouched down to her level, a hand on her shoulder. Selene watched her mother grasp his hand and use his strength to pull herself up, her other hand tightly wrapped around the silver locket.

"Popcorn? Anybody?" Magnus held the bin out for anyone to use and Alec nudged him with his elbow. Selene stared at him for a minute, before grabbing a piece, she needed comforting food right now. She needed to do something, she needed to train. To feel the sword in her hands and to attack all the robotic dummies in the world. Magnus tossed a look to Alec, as if to say; I-told-you-someone-would-want-popcorn.

Her mother wrapped her arms around Luke. "I'm so sorry. We never wanted you to find out like this." Her green, emerald eye's flicked towards the door, before refocusing on Luke. Luke snuggled into her embrace for a second, the secret being revealed rolling off his shoulders. Selene was proud of him, his ability to forgive them, because they had been just trying to protect him and his ability to understand that.

"I can't believe this." Aunt Izzy said, grabbing a handful of popcorn and shoving it into her mouth. "Your daughter is alive, and you had thought she was murdered fifteen years ago, and you kept it a secret for so long."

They all ignored Magnus's silent mutter that it was his popcorn.

Selene bit her lip, knowing that her friends had so many questions, wanted so many answers but right now, she just wanted to be alone. Preferably with a robotic test dummy so that all of her emotions could go into her training. She didn't want to answer any question regarding Amberly, because even if they were twins, she didn't know a thing about Amberly.

Something caught her eye suddenly, the paperback sketchbook laying, forgotten on the floor, Amberly must have dropped it in her haste to get out of there, to run. Selene walked over to it and picked it up, flipping through, she found a sketch of Logan, but ignored the pinprick of jealousy that washed over her like a tidal wave. Her fingers stalled in the pursuit, however, when she saw herself, an image of her wielding a sword with fierce determination shinning in her eyes. She looked like a fierce warrior and every curl in her hair was pronounced, she looked almost, beautiful.

There were other sketches in there too, half-finished sketches of the picture in their lockets, but Amberly's must have gotten faded, because the details became unfocused with each redrawing. Selene glanced up at her mother, who was talking in hushed tones with Alec, Magnus, Izzy, and Simon. A pang hit her chest, a feeling of loneliness, even if she somewhat wanted the solitude, a small part of her wanted to be comforted. Wanted her mom to embrace her and tell her that everything was fine and going to be ok.

She wouldn't ask for it, though, because she was supposed to be a strong warrior. It was the role she played and the role well-suited for her.

She turned away and caught Tessa's eye, scooting closer towards her. "Are you ok, Tessa?" Selene noted the far-away look in her glazed eyes. Like she was lost in a world of her own making.

Tessa turned to her, blinking sluggishly. "I should be asking you that, Selene. You're the one who just realized that your twin sister was alive." It was unlike her usual composure, she looked young and frightened rather than old and wise. The words were stated with a bluntness that made Selene flinch slightly. "I'm sorry." Tessa's eyes traced her features, "It's just, not going to get easy, but I think that you two will come to realize that you need each other. That you can make each other better."

Selene turned back to the door, watching as the door opened to reveal her father and Amberly, who still looked lost and confused. A part of her wanted to come towards her, but she figured it wouldn't do much good. She would only make things worse, so she was better off leaving Amberly alone for the time being.

Even if the logical sounded right in her head, her heart protested but was ignored.

* * *

Watching Jace and Amberly come through the doors happened in almost slow-motion, like her head was underwater and the waves were moving above and beneath her ears. Clary gripped the silver chain tightly, looking the girl up and down and marking down every detail she could in her head. The golden hair, the tan skin, and the green eyes. Jace would probably view it differently, but Amberly looked so much like him. She could feel Simon's grip tighten on her shoulder, showing his support, but she shrugged him away, watching her daughter's face, up close, she could see the freckles that swept across her nose, a light constellation.

She hadn't wanted to look at the girl when they entered the room, frightened at the prospect of how similar she looked to Jace. Terrified that Tessa would reveal that she was their 'murdered' daughter that was still alive. Still here and breathing and alive, filled with hopes and dreams and visions of the world. Everything she had ever wanted for her daughter to have, everything she ever wanted to have herself, to be able to see the daughter she had lost and to be able to see what she would become.

The angel had sent her dreams of a little girl, and Clary had imagined that that little girl was who her daughter could have been.

Now, she realized, that the visions were who her daughter _is_. Every part of her, every stage of her life.

Clary inhaled, taking a step forward, feeling the chain dig into her hands as she held onto it for dear life. She didn't even realize she was moving until she was right in front of the girl. Up close, she could see the pink tear tracks on her cheeks, could see the sheen of tears in her eyes. Mentally, she noted that Jace was wearing a fireproof rune of her own design on his arm, the rune dark and swirling showing how recent it had been engraved.

She opened her mouth to say something but choked on a sob and Jace put a hand on her shoulder, steadying her with his golden eyes. "You-You look so much like your father." Clary whispered, the words escaping her lips as she cupped Amberly's cheek in one hand. The girl released a sound that was a half a laugh and half a sob. "I can't believe it, you're alive. You're here, my sweet baby is alive." She wrapped her arms around Amberly, ignoring the slight sting that came when she did so.

Clary would have all of her flesh burned off before she would ever not give her daughter a hug.

She stood there for a minute, feeling the warmth and heat coming off in waves, before she pulled back. "I don't want to hurt you." Amberly whispered, her voice quiet as her eyes took on a worried look.

"So, you're supposed to be my other sister?" Clary turned around to look at Luke, he had shoved his phone in his pocket, the gigantic phone half peeking out from the pocket of his jacket. "Mom and Dad said I was born with the heavenly fire, so does that mean that you were born with it too?" He asked, tilting his head to the side but not coming any closer.

Amberly shrugged, her hands in her pockets. "I think so." Her voice was questioning, and she looked unsure and exhausted.

Luke didn't comment on the tiredness, even though he probably noticed it, "That's so cool. So, can you like shoot fireballs from your hands and stuff like that?" He looked excited and Clary mentally breathed a sigh of relief that he viewed it as cool and not as something dangerous.

"Ummm, I haven't tried it or anything, but maybe?"

"Really? I'd want to try it the minute I found out. Imagine it." Luke said before holding his hands out in front of him, pretending to conjure a fireball. "Bam! Bye, bye demon. Oh no, another demon. Boom!" Clary laughed and ruffled his hair, laughter still bubbling out of her chest as he swatted her hand away.

Her hand was still gripping the silver locket and she glanced back at Amberly, suddenly hesitant. She had spent years of her life believing her daughter was dead and now she was looking at a ghost, at a very alive girl that resembled both herself and Jace. She pinched herself, feeling the sting and happy when the dream didn't dissolve in front of her eyes. Holding her hand up, she held the silver locket out to Amberly, who suddenly took a step back. "You're Amberly Herondale. I believe this belongs to you." She took a small step forward, "May I?" Clary gestured for Amberly to turn around, so she could put the necklace on her.

Amberly opened her mouth to say something, before she glanced behind her, at Jace. He nodded at her and she turned back around, offering Clary a small smile accompanied with a nod and turning around. Clary held the locket above her head, standing on her tip toes for a minute as she got it around her neck and Amberly lifted her hair out from underneath it. Amberly pushed her hair to the top of her head, some loose tendrils of blonde hair slipping past her fingers and Clary hooked the ends together before letting go.

Turning back around, Amberly offered a small smile, filled with nerves. "Thank you." She said, before she pulled away. Clary tried not to frown, but her lips tilted downwards nonetheless, she hadn't expected Amberly to immediately start calling her mom. Things like this took time, and they had barely just met.

Clary turned back towards the group. Simon gave her a comforting smile, showing that he understood her pain between their shared connection. She caught Selene's eye, watching as her eldest distanced herself impossibly farther away. So far out of reach and watching the scene like she was a stranger. Selene looked impassive, her gaze shifting towards Amberly, scanning every detail and committing it to memory.

* * *

Dinner had been awkward and silent, there wasn't much Amberly was comfortable with admitting. She knew that these people were supposed to be her family, but she didn't know them. She had no clue they even exited until more than a week ago. A small smile filtered across her lips, she had been able to joke with Luke though, he was so young and acted oblivious towards the slight tension that had filled the room with trepidation. Sighing, she turned to her side, watching the shadows flicker outside the door.

 _It must be either Clary or Jace_ , Amberly knew she could call them mom and dad, but it felt soon, too soon for that. She had called someone else mom a long time ago and that woman had sent her to the orphanage because the golden blood was too much for her. It was too much for everyone Amberly had ever met, it was why she never went to the doctor for a blood test, always hiding or pretending she didn't have to go.

Amberly sat up, they had placed her in a different room, one without a camera, or so she hoped, because they didn't think of her as someone evil. Not even Selene, who hadn't breathed a word to her since the news had been unraveled.

Flicking on the lamp, she pushed herself out of bed, her bare feet hitting the carpeted floors and stared ahead of her unseeingly. Her thoughts were consumed with Crystal, wondering if her little sister was ok with everything that Amberly had unintentionally dragged her into. Resting her head on her palm, she decided that she would go talk to Crystal tomorrow, when they had time to talk about everything.

She wasn't going to abandon her old family now that she had her biological family and she needed to tell Crystal that.

Amberly stood up, opening and closing some of the drawers in search for a pen so she could write down the little note, she didn't want to forget, and she had a feeling she wouldn't. But she wanted to make sure that she would do it, tomorrow, as soon as possible.

A light knock rapped on the door and she slid her gaze from the drawers to the door and smoothed down her shorts. "Ummm. Come in." She said. The door opened to reveal Jace, he was holding a movie, and she could see the bright red hair of Clary behind him. Amberly wanted to relax, but she couldn't help it, they made her scared and nervous, which she knew that neither of them wanted, but she had memories of being sent back for reasons that seemed so ridiculous before. She didn't know how her biological family would react to her, if they really knew her.

Jace held up the movie as they walked in. "We were wondering if you'd want to watch a movie with us. Clary says it's a classic." He didn't seem to have a clue as to what he was doing, glancing behind him at Clary a few times.

Clary rolled her emerald-colored eyes, "Yeah. It'll be great, like a family movie night." Her smile wavered slightly. "Luke and Selene are downstairs getting popcorn and we have a great T.V. in our room, if you want to come with us, of course. You don't have to, it'd be nice if you wanted to, but you can go to sleep or whatever you were doing." She rambled slightly and probably would have continued if Jace hadn't put a hand over her mouth.

Amberly couldn't help it, a small laugh escaped from her mouth and they both gave her a look. "Sorry, it's just. I've never really had a family-movie-night-thingy." She waved her hands in all sorts of directions and Clary's face became a little sympathetic and guilty. Amberly quickly wiped away all her nerves and anxieties for a minute, because she knew that Clary was a nice woman and didn't deserve to be reminded of something that wasn't her fault to begin with. "I'd love to go watch a movie with you guys." She said with a smile.

"Don't worry about it, we don't really do this type of thing often." Jace slid one eye closed into a wink, looking like he wanted to ruffle her hair, but he stopped himself.

Clary clasped her hands together, her eyes lighting up. "Great. All you need is a pillow. Our room is the last door at the end of the hallway since this little section is the Herondale section. Come join us when you're ready." Her smile stretched from one cheek to the other and Amberly smiled back.

They were both gone, shutting the door behind them and Amberly sighed once the door closed, pulling her locket out and opening it. She stared at the grainy picture on it, Magnus had said he would replace it for her if she wanted but she had politely declined. Amberly knew that she should probably get it replaced, but she couldn't, it was like a small memento to her past and she couldn't bring herself to completely get rid of it. It was a reminder of all the times she had looked to the same picture for guidance and for hope.

Shaking her head, she grabbed a pillow off her bed, turning off her lamp in the process, and went towards the bathroom. Amberly grabbed one of the spare toothbrushes and began to brush her teeth, once finished she brushed her hair. Turning on the tap, she ran the brush under the cool water before turning it off and brushing through her hair, wetting it and causing water droplets to cool her scalp. Amberly set the brush down and braided her hair, tying it with a hair tie she found in the bathroom.

She smiled at herself in the mirror, making sure that her eyes weren't still red from earlier, before she exited the bathroom, pillow in hand and made her way to the last door in the hallway. Amberly wanted to run back to the room she was staying in but planted her feet firmly into the carpet, she needed to do this. She wasn't going to stand up her biological family. Squaring her shoulders, she raised a hand before faltering slightly, ignoring the pool of anxiety settling in her stomach, she knocked.

The door opened to reveal Jace and he bowed dramatically, gesturing for her to come in. Clary was sitting on the bed next to Selene with Luke to the left of Selene and more towards the middle, he was holding one of the three tubs of popcorn and munching on a few that he flicked into his mouth. "Hey." Clary smiled brightly, "Jace, go put the movie in, we have to get started." She ordered in a teasing tone.

Jace pouted before complying. "I didn't realize I was the servant." He muttered as he set up the movie before crawling in, leaving some space for Amberly. He turned to glance up at her, patting the spot and keeping his legs off the bed for her to get in. Amberly smiled nervously back before she got in, situated on the other side of Luke, who offered her his bowl of popcorn. She took a few pieces as the movie started and Jace flicked off the light.

It was a comedy filled with Jace and Selene making dirty comments and Amberly even got to cover Luke's ears out of habit with Crystal. She knew that Clary and Jace were happy with the end result, especially when they all ended up falling asleep through the second movie.

* * *

 **Well, what do you think? I'm sorry, I think, that it took so long for me to update, but I have spent the past four hours working on this and perfecting it. I'm kind of doing a mental dance of happiness with the end result because I do like the final scene, kind of makes up for that one moment that made me cry while I was writing it, I think you guys know the one. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are satisfied with the result because I am.**

 **I also figured I would do a sort of timeline, if that's alright. So, the war with Sebastian ended in 2008, I'm going to say around late January or early February. From the Shadowhunters: Tales from the Shadowhunters Academy, we know that Max was adopted two years after the war, so in 2010, I'm going to say May 4, 2010. Four years later, Logan Lightwood was born, on February 22, 2014. A few months later, Gabriel and Skyler were adopted by Alec and Magnus, on June 8, 2014 and were born on April 13, 2014. The next year, Amberly and Selene Herondale were born, on August 16, 2015. Amberly went missing October 20, 2015. Five years later Luke was born, on December 2, 2020. It is now around May in the year 2031 for the Shadowhunters. I understand that a few of my references might be off in previous chapters and I will attempt to correct them.**

 **Thank you for reading.**


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